Southern Italy

I suppose it is time to finally write about my last couple days in Italy. I kind of feel like once I write this it will all be over, so that is why I have been procrastinating. Time to move on though, so here we go.

We arrived in Napoli as state in an earlier post, and from there, had to get to Sorrento where our hotel was. To do this, we had to take the Circumvesuviana Train, which, predictably, goes somewhat around Vesuvius. So we dragged our luggage over to the train station, somewhat connected but not really to Napoli Centrale. Sadly, after we bought our tickets, we realized that we had to go down many steps. Why is this sad? Because we had heavy, heavy luggage. LC even had two large suitcases. Lucky for her though, throughout our journey from Florence to Sorrento and back to Rome, she managed to have someone help her with her with one of her suitcases about 60% of the time, if not more. Maybe it’s the short blonde thing, lol. In any case, we lugged our luggage down 2 separate flights of stairs to the platform, dragged ourselves onto the Circumvesuviana, and nowhere to sit. So we stood for the first 20 minutes, worried we were on the wrong train as the final destination listed in the car was not Sorrento. Luckily, we were on the right train, and we found seats for the last 45 minutes of the journey.

After the uneventful train ride, we arrived in Sorrento. Unfortunately, we did not really print out directions on how to get to the hotel, so we kind of wandered (with out ridiculously heavy bags) and asked multiple people how to get there. Finally, 20 min later, we found it. Luckily, it had an elevator (it was on the 3rd floor), and our room was on the third floor as well. We got into our room, so happy to change (it was a hot and sweaty journey) and leave again for dinner.

Piazza Tasso (I think it was) is the local hangout in Sorrento, and there is a corner with 3 restaurants right next to each other. Needless to say, this is where we ate dinner for our three nights in Sorrento. After our yummy dinner, it was time to explore Sorrento a bit, and then go to bed so we could be wide-awake in Positano the next day

To get to Positano from Sorrento one can take a bus or the train. We chose to take the bus because half of the fun when it comes to the Almafi coast is the drive getting there. I actually thought it was going to be a bigger scare than it was, but I was caught up in the scenery, so that might be why it didn't phase me. LC on the other hand, thought it was kind of scary. Also fun (to me at least) was that the driver honked the horn for every turn, just in case another car was coming. The road is kind of narrow, so it was necessary to make the presence of a bus known to drivers coming the other way. There were actually parts of the drive where someone had to back up to let us through. I also saw a cyclist and immediately thought of dad. The road was twisty, turny, steep, high, narrow, and not really conducive to cycling I thought. Still, that was only the first rider I saw that day, as I think I saw a total of about 6. Good for them. Anyway, back to the drive. The scenery was fantastic. I probably took too many pictures, and I only posted my favorites, so they are not all posted. But it was that pretty, so it’s all good.

Anyway, we arrived in Positano (after some confusion as to where to get off the bus) and were promptly awed by the town. It is such a cute town crawling up the hill/mountain-side. It is so quaint and there are so many pretty scenes. So we walked down to the beach, bought a beach towel, paid to use the umbrellas for the day (got a discount for being form CA), and relaxed. It was a nice day after our time traveling the day before. Pretty much all we did was sit, relax, swim, eat, relax some more, and repeat. After a couple hours (ok, maybe more than a couple), we packed up and got some gelato, as no trip is complete without trying the gelato. Sadly, this was probably my least favorite gelato of the trip. In any case, we dragged ourselves up the hill to the bus stop and were greeted by a line of people. I wasn’t sure we would make it on the bus, but we did. Granted, we didn’t have seats, but at least we were on the bus.

So the ride starts back to Sorrento, and yeah, it kind of sucks to be standing, but no biggie right? At least that was what I thought until I literally fell into someone’s lap as the driver slammed on the breaks to avoid crashing head on into another bus coming the other way. So that was fun. We finally got seats about half way through the trip, but gave them up to some elderly women. So the rest of the ride was a nice arm work out holding ourselves up, and was otherwise uneventful.

After we arrived back in Sorrento we noticed our sunburns, didn't really care, changed, and went to our second of the three restaurants in the Piazza.

The following day was our day in Capri. For this, we left the hotel early, and took a ferry out to the island. I don’t know why, but in my mind Capri was more like Santorini: beachy and such. In fact, Capri is not like that at all. It is instead very mountainous and foresty. Its still amazing though, and I took no shortage of pictures.

The first thing we did was buy tickets for a boat tour of the island. We got in a long line, and decided to take the next boat so we cold actually have seats. We were then told that we couldn’t wait in line itself, and to come back at 11 for the 1125 boat tour. So we went to an Internet cafe for 20 min, came back out, and there was a long line. Needless to say, I was mad because we were told not to wait in line. In fact, that we actually weren’t allowed to. So, I was mad, but we dealt with it, and got pretty good seats anyway. The funny part was that some people tried to cut us in line and the Italian family behind us started yelling at them. They ended up moving to the back of the line, which made me really happy.

So the boat ride was amazing. We got to see the blue grotto, green grotto, white grotto, and go completely around the island. The blue grotto was an interesting experience. We got off the tour boat and into a canoe. Two girls from NY asked if we wanted to ride in the canoe with them (it was 4 to a canoe), probably because there seemed to be quite a few overweight people on our boat and we seemed pretty normal. So we hopped in, well, squeezed in might be more appropriate, paid ten euro, and looked around for the blue grotto. We didn’t see an opening in the rock and were a bit confused. Then, as we got closer to the rock wall, the canoe guy waited for a wave, told us to lean back, grabbed a chain from nowhere, and pulled us into a hole that magically appeared. At first, it was just a black cave we seemed to be in, I was enjoying the singing that some of the rowers were doing, and I was still a bit surprised by our entrance into the cave. Then, I turned around and saw the blue water around the entrance. It kind of looked like it was glowing and it was super cool. Sadly, you are only supposed to spend about 3 minutes in the Grotto, which is lame because you pay 10 euro to get in. Lucky for us, the girls in our boat wanted to swim. So they each paid 5 euro (ridiculous if you ask me) and jumped in. Well, one of them jumped in, and the other had to be cajoled, which all meant that we got to stay in the Grotto for a bit longer. Getting the girls back into the boat proved fun, as it rocked back and forth so much LC and I thought we would end up in the water too. Nothing happened though, and after our 10 min or so in the Grotto, we headed towards the little hole that was supposed to be our exit. I kind of doubted that we would make it out without any scrapes, and I wondered how we could be sure no one was coming in while we were going out. Still, our rower grabbed the magic chain, we leaned back, and out we went with a wave. At this point, our rower asked for a tip, which we declined to give. He had his back to us, he didn’t talk, he didn’t sign, he wasn’t nice, he didn’t do anything but sit there while other rowers did all the fun stuff. We were some of the last people on the boat, and once we got on, away we went.

The next fun thing we saw was the green grotto. The boat just backed up to this pretty little area, where the water was green and gorgeous and there was a little archway and it was all just nice and picturesque. Next we saw the arch. It was naturally made and supposedly if you kiss a loved one when you go through it, you will be together forever. So the boat made its way through the arch, with some couples kissing, some not, and I personally wasn't sure we would make it through the arch in one piece, but we did. We moved on around the island and saw the white grotto. This grotto is famous for its stalagmites and stalactites (I think those are the correct terms). It is also famous for the rock that looks like the Virgin Mary at the top. I seem to have missed that, but I’m okay with it. We then continued around the island and ended up back at the marina.

I was going to write some more, but I’m a bit tired of writing, so I will write some more later. Ciao for now and look at it this way, the adventure continues :-)

Final Albums

I added my pictures for Venice, Positano, Capri, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. I have yet to add captions for the last two albums, but I will get to them soon.

I will also post about my trips to Positano, Capri, Pompeii, and Herculaneum sometime soon.

Just When I Thought The Adventure Was Over…

Here is the entry I wrote while on the plane...

So this morning I thought everything would be easy with no worries as we were staying in a hotel right near the Rome Airport (FCO). It was not to be.

First, our journey to the hotel. We explored Pompeii and Herculaneum yesterday, and after Herculaneum, we made our way back to Napoli Centrale (the train station). We picked up our bags and bought our tickets for the train to Rome. We had about 40 minutes to spare, so we decided to take advantage of Mc Donalds again, and managed to have our last Italian meal be Micky D’s, so fabulous, I know. In any case, we ate dinner there, caught our train, and had a nice 2 hour ride.

We got to Termini (the main train station in Rome), and had to figure out how to get to the airport so we could get to our hotel. Sadly, we called Marriot, and they said that the last shuttle from the airport was at 920, and as our train got in from Napoli at 920, we figured we were going to miss that one. So I wandered around, bought our tickets, and then found a Leonardo da Vinci express to the airport leaving in less than 15 minutes. We ran with all of our luggage over to the train, with some time to spare. We hauled our luggage up into the car, where there was one other person. Unfortunately, as we waited to gain access to the luggage rack, she stood there fiddling around, doing nothing productive that we could see. Finally, we gave up, pushed our way around her, and got to another luggage rack and some seats. The ride was once again uneventful.

So we arrived in the airport and then had to find a mode of transportation to our hotel. First though, we needed to find an atm. I was out of cash and LC was almost out, so I pulled out 40 euro after searching for a good 10 minutes and finding that maps in the airport lie. We then made our way down to the arrivals, and caught a shuttle to the hotel. We were told it would be 20 or 25 euro for the two of us, but it ended up being 30. In other words, we could have taken a cab and it would have been cheaper, but at that point we were tired and didn’t want to argue, so we let it go and walked into the hotel.

The most amazing thing about the hotel was the ability to shower and wash off all of the volcanic ash and dust that we were covered in from our afternoon in Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was a fabulous shower, probably the best since I have been here, and I promise I appreciated it. Sadly, the designer of the shower miscalculated how much water would spill over and we had a mini flood, but it all worked out. We had to pay 12 euro for internet (thanks dad!), but were able to check in, update the blogs a bit, and take care of some email.

This morning we got up around 820 for our 9am shuttle to the airport (my flight was at 1120). We got downstairs a bit before 9, checked out, and were told the shuttle was gone. We were a bit surprised by this as we were not told we had to be downstairs before 9, and on top of that, we got downstairs before 9 and did not see the shuttle. So that was frustrating, especially as the next shuttle was not supposed to arrive until 940. At this point I was trying to take it in stride, but we couldn’t afford a taxi, as it was 12 euros for the two of us to take the shuttle, and if we counted that plus my change, it would have been about 17 euro. So we sat there hoping to leave early, which thankfully we did (if 930 counts as early).

We arrived at Terminal 5, the new terminal for United, Delta, American, US Airways, and maybe a couple others. The main point is that it is for travel into the US on US carriers. We got in, walked through the first checkpoint where they asked about bags, and then on to check in. This is where LC and split up and the real fun began.

The line was maybe 20 people deep, so while I was concerned about the time (it was 950, boarding was at 1035), I wasn’t too worried. However, as time passed, it was increasingly annoying. The people in front of me had on average 5 pieces of luggage and there were only 2 people doing the check in business. On top of that, another attendant (not sure what else to call her), was helping big groups (who were behind me in line) by printing their boarding passes and taking them up to the front to one of the two check in ladies, making the process even longer.
Finally, I got up to the front around 1010/1015, so excited and sure it would take no time at all to get through the process. I was mistaken. First, my bag was overweight, and as I didn’t have a lot of time to move stuff around, I decided to pay the exorbitant fee and get moving. Then, the machine wouldn’t print the tag for my luggage. The woman sat there and played with it for a couple of minutes before it finally printed it out correctly. Finally, the woman couldn’t figure out the next step in order to charge my credit card. She must have sat there staring at the screen for a good couple of minutes before the light bulb went off and it all worked. No one was in a hurry here, and there were a bunch of people who were on my flight in this line. I swear I have never been in a slower check in line, or a less efficient one. It must just be the Italian way.

In any case, it was on to security, which was quick and easy, no problems. From there you have to hop on a shuttle to take you to the actual terminal you will be leaving from. This is all well and good, except when you are in a rush and they are waiting for the shuttle to fill up before leaving. We finally (finally!) pulled away, and drove over to the terminal. From there, my gate was of course the farthest away, so I rushed over, keeping an eye peeled for a snack shop to pick up some snack and finish up my eruos. It was not to be and I arrived at my gate at 1035, as they announced boarding.

One would think this would mean the adventure has ended, but it hasn’t. They announced boarding would begin in a minute, and proceeded to call individual people to the desk for another 10 minutes. After this delay, they made an announcement that boarding would be delayed another 10 minutes. Then it was the most disorganized boarding ever, as 15 minutes later they let Groups 1, 2, and 3 on together, I guess to speed it up. I was group 2, so I hustled on the plane, got my seat and settled in by 1110, only 10 minutes before we were supposed to take off. Once I was settled, a couple who was split up asked me to switch with one of them so they could sit together. I agreed, deciding it was my mitzvah for the day, and hoping in my head that the plane wouldn’t crash as I am now not in my assigned seat (fingers crossed).

We were all loaded on by 1130, still with no real reason for the delay besides the fact something needed to be taken care of. We taxied forever, and took off at about 12 for our 9 hour flight, only 40 minutes late, for still unspecified reasons.

Alls well that ends well, and as I am on the plane now, I suppose I cant really complain.

Quite the adventure all things considered. I think now I will enjoy my pretzels and coke, and read a book. When I get tired of that, I will work on a post for the past couple of days in Southern Italy.

PS: Flying over Sardenia was super cool :-)

Last Hotel Room...For Now

I am sitting in the hotel Dad got us in Rome, right near the airport, and feeling a mixture of happiness and sadness about coming home.

I will miss Italy a lot, but there are things I wont miss about it as well. I will miss the traveling and new adventures and exploring new cities. I wont miss schleping all of my crap everywhere. I miss the Villa (not just the food and service, but the whole program), but I won't miss everyone who was in the program. I will miss the gelato, but not the ridiculous prices we had to pay for it. I will miss the amazing Italian food and olive oil, but not the smoking that was at every outdoor restaurant we ate at. The other issue is that I am not exactly sure where home is anymore. It could be DC, or it could be SD. So confusing.

In any case, this isn't a very insightful post, just a little bit of thought at 1am.

I will post more about our past couple days in Southern Italy. I don't think I have enough time or functioning brain cells to do it all justice now. Let me just say Sorrento is great, Positano is fabulous (though the drive getting there is a bit of a white-knuckler), Capri is stunning and gorgeous (the Grottos especially), and Pompeii and Herculaneum are interesting and really make one ponder life in 79AD.

So Buona Notte da Italia for the last time, and my next post will be from the US of A.

Looking Back

Well, I am back in the McDonalds in Napoli, attempting to check in online for my flight tomorrow morning. Sadly, it is not going very well, which is why I am typing this brief entry instead of sitting on a train to Pompeii.

We decided to come to Napoli, drop our bags off, go back to Pompeii and Herculaneum, return to Napoli to pick up our bags and get our tickets to Rome, and then head to the hotel. I think it is going to be a very long day. It should be worth it though, especially since I have been thinking about seeing Pompeii and Herculaneum for a very long time. Im such a history nerd. I just find the whole thing fascinating, and I can't wait to learn more.

Sadly, we will never get to Pompeii if this stupid online check in doesn't work. Sigh.

LC and I have also decided that we are going to be watching some Italian or Italy based movies when we get back. So we started up Netflix again and will have Casion Royale( my first Bond movie, lol) and Dangerous Beauty (about a courtesean in Venice) awaiting our return. We also plan on watching the Italian Job and Only You, which I own, and Cinema Paradiso and Il Postino, which we will also get through Netflix.

I will try to update about our time in Sorrento, Positano, and Capri tonight, but no promises.

Now, I am giving up on United.com and heading to Pompeii. History is sometimes so much more exciting than the future.

Trains, Trains, Trains

So I am on the train on my way to Napoli at the moment, and thought I would write an article in Word and then upload it later when I have internet access.

First, Venezia. On Friday, Lee Catherine and I hopped in a cab with Andrew, and headed out of Fiesole and into Florence. We checked Andrews bags at the train station, and wandered San Lorenzos market for some last minute items, such as a black pashmina for mom, cool leather purses for LC, her sister, and me, and gifts for Andrew’s girlfriend, Jamie. We had just enough time after that to say our good-byes with Andrew as he got on a train going South to Rome (going back to the US of A on Saturday), and we hopped on a train going North to Venice.
The train ride was uneventful. We sat with 2 people who LC thinks were together, but I don’t think so. They were quiet, refused to move, and stared the whole time. Quite nice, really. Also sad was that the seats were quite uncomfortable. It was only a bit over 3 hours though, and after that, all was right with the world.

As we exited the train station, it was just as I had remembered. The hustle and bustle of the Grand Canal, tourists everywhere, beautiful homes on the water, etc. I don’t think LC was disappointed either. Anyway, we got a 48 hour pass to ride the Vaparetto (like a ferry going stop to stop along the Grand Canal) whenever we wanted. They have a new system, where you get a card, and then you tap it every time you get on the boat. Last time I was there they did not have this system, and they didn’t have a 48 hour card, so it worked out nicely.

Getting to the hotel was an adventure because neither of us thought to get directions. So we had someone email them to us from Google, and it was ridiculously complicated. We managed though, and our location was perfect, right between San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. We dropped our stuff off, changed out of our travel clothes, and headed off to try to see if we could find the restaurant that I loved from my last visit to the city.

So off we went, traipsing around the city, from piazza to piazza. We made it to the Accademia, and up and over we went. At this point, I am pretty sure LC thought I had led her astray and that we would never get dinner. I am sure she became even more of this as I led her farther away from the main path. Then, however, it was there. Just like I remembered. Taverno San Trovaso. We walked in, and there were no tables available outside, but we sat right next to the door. LC ordered an insalata mista and gnocchi con Quattro formaggi, (salad and gnocchi with cheese)and I ordered my usual, pasta con aglio, olio, e pepperoncino (really good pasta). We also split a filet (our first red meat really of the trip), and had some wine. It was a fantastic meal, and much cheaper than we thought it would be. Bonus.

After dinner we headed over to San Marco to see it at night. We were greeted with musicians playing outside a restaurant and were immediately charmed. We wandered around, listening to other musical groups playing at other restaurants in Piazza San Marco, decided the first was the best, and went back to listen to a bit more before heading back to the hotel and to bed.
I suppose I should describe the hotel at this point. From the outside it is gorgeous, right smack in the middle of Venice. The lobby is beautiful, and even the hallways are nice. The rooms, however, are teeny tiny. Literally only big enough to fit two twin size beds right next to each other. The bathroom was nice though, and taking a shower there was much better than the shower at the Villa (oh Villa, I miss you already). In any case, all we really did there was sleep and shower, so it worked out quite nicely.

Back to the narrative. Saturday morning we went down to breakfast (its included!) and ate outside along the canal. It was a nice, non rushed meal once again. Afterwards, LC was super awesome (her edit, not mine, as I just passed her the computer to give our tickets to the train guy) and went to the gym, while I wandered around the streets of Venice for about an hour and a half, poking into shops and buying some postcards (which will probably arrive after I do, lol). We met up at San Marco at a pre-designated spot, and set off for the day.

First, we went to the Rialto Bridge. We stopped in one store I remembered from my last visit, and LC got a bookmark and I got a really cool sepia map of Venice. It is a copy of the first map of Venice ever made. We continued to pop in and out of shops, especially looking at masks, as we both decided we wanted at least a couple to use as wall art. We found one really good store and kept it in mind throughout the day. Our main goal was just to walk around and enjoy the city. We ended up around San Marco for lunch, and spoke with some lovely people from Canada who were finishing a cruise.

Our next plan was to hop on a Vaparetto and travel through the Grand Canal to really get a feel for the city. We sadly got on one going the wrong way, but I think it was actually better as we got to see outside the normal area of Venice, and then travel through the Grand Canal. It was a long but fun little journey.

We then made our way back to the hotel, stopping first at a cute little jewelry shop. LC got 3 necklaces, one of which is a lizard and way cool, as well as three pair of earrings. I bought one necklace and two pair of earrings. I will take pictures of them and post them at some point. Maybe when I am back in DC and unpacked in my new apartment, wherever that may be, I can take pictures of all of the fun stuff I bought. We shall see. Anyway, we went back t the mask store, and did each pick out three masks. I chose gold and blue ones, while LC chose gold and red. I think they are pretty, and I already took a picture of them, so that will be posted sometime soon (I hope).

Anyway, it was back to the hotel to change, then off to find an internet café (where my first post from Venice was from) and then off to find a restaurant on a canal. Unfortunately, we were unaware of how difficult it would be to find a restaurant on a canal. First we got completely lost while wandering, then all the restaurants on canals were more snack shops than actual restaurants. After wandering around for an hour (yes I really mean an hour), we somehow made it back to San Marco. How, Im still not sure, but we made it. We hopped on a Vaparetto, went to the Accademia, and made our way back towards our hotel, thinking to eat at one of the restaurants in a piazza somewhere instead of on a canal. Sadly, this was not to be. Unfortunately, they were all booked. We should have had the hotel make us a reservation somewhere, but neither of us thought about that. Oh well. At this point we were starving and considering eating at the Hard Rock Café. Instead, we continued past San Marco, and walked up to a nice looking restaurant just off the Grand Canal. This was a good choice. Not only did they hold our chairs for us, but they treated us like queens for the whole meal. While here, I suggested LC try a bellini, since at that point, we definitely deserved something after wandering forever. So we ordered one, and it was fabulous, as expected. The menu was a little pricy, but at that point we were so hungry, we didn’t care. So we ordered, and plowed through the bread provided while waiting for our meal. Surprise, surprise, a shrimp cocktail arrived for each of us. It was fabulous (I scrapped away the sauce ☺). Our meal came, and it was delicious as well. We did not order dessert, so they gave us a plate of cookies. The bill was not as expensive as it should have been, as they left off the wine we ordered with our meal. We figured it was providence and did not complain. All in all, if that’s the service I will get every time I get lost for an hour in a strange city, Ill gladly do it more often.

After that it was our plan to head over to Piazza San Marco and get a table at our favorite musicians bar/café. So we did. We ordered the drink of Venice, the Spritz. It was alright, a little bitter to my taste, but good none the less. We also got some chocolate cake. Yum. We ended up sitting there for an hour and 45 minutes just listening to the musicians and enjoying the music. In this particular group there was a violinist, pianist, upright bass player, and someone playing accordion. They played everything from Sinatra, to Dean Martin, to Phantom of the Opera to Here Comes the Bride, it was great. I recorded some of it and will try to post it.
After the concert we went back to the hotel and to bed.

The next morning we had breakfast, LC went for a run, and we checked out of the hotel. We then checked our bags at the train station while we wandered a bit more. We found the Jewish Ghetto, tucked away in a side canal, and I almost bought a mezuzah or two for the new apt, but I already have a couple in SD. We then had lunch at a restaurant on a canal (finally! A meal on a side canal!). I also picked up some sidewalk art that was pretty and cheap. After that we tried to change our train ticket to an earlier time, but when that failed, we decided to go to Harry’s Bar for a Bellini (since they created them we thought it was a fitting way to pass the time) and to plan some of our trip to the Almalfi Coast. After that we enjoyed our Vapparetto ride back up to the train station, playing tourist and taking pictures the whole way.

The train ride back was once again uneventful, just long. After that, we took the bus up to Fiesole for the last time and made it to the Villa. We unpacked our stuff, and then repacked most of it for the journey today.

This morning was sad, as it was my last time waking up to the birds singing outside my window. I doubt I will have that in DC. We lazed around a bit, finished some packing and laundry, and headed out to the train station with Olivia. We dropped her off at one station, and continued on to our own. Sadly, we had to carry our crap down and up a bunch of stairs at this train station, and now my hands hurt as my luggage is way too heavy. I am considering checking my backpack and carrying some other stuff on the plane with me in another bag. We shall see though.

Now we are on the train, and sitting in a compartment with 3 Italians. For the first 20 min, we attempted to converse with 2 of them. It worked pretty well, I am proud to say. Now we just have 3 and a half more hours til Napoli. Hopefully Dad can work his magic and we can get a hotel there. If not, we have a hotel in Sorrento. It will just be a pain with the bags to get there.
Our plan for the next couple days involves going to Capri, Positano, and Pompeii. Hopefully it will all work out and be a very relaxing time.

I think that is enough for right now, as this entry is ridiculously long. So until I write again, ciao!

Update: In a train station in Napoli. Dad's magic did not work, but we are happy with Sorrento, so everything is gravy (even though I dont like gravy, I think this is a saying that everything is good). Loe the free wireless at MickyD's :-)

Continuing to Look Back

So to continue my earlier post...

We made it to Vernazza, everybody whole, alive, and happy to be there. There was a potty break fro some, a pizza break for others, a coke and water break for me, and a picture break for everybody. So after about 20-30 minutes, we got back on the trail. This time LC took the backpack, so that made it a ton easier for me.

The hike was once again picturesque and difficult, though I found it a bit easier than the first one. That could be because I no longer had the huge backpack on my back, but who knows. There were probably just as many stairs, though they did not bother me as much. This trail may have been a bit more dangerous in general though, mainly because the trails were wet and slippery and muddy at this point. It was still fun though, and Olivia and I were laughing as we squelched our way through. Andrew almost fell off a cliff, but a mother, she had to be a mother the way she yanked him back, saved him. That was fun. I should also mention, Andrew was the designated photographer in the beginning, as we didn't want to all have our cameras out. Plus, it was raining. We also kept our cameras away most of the second hike as it was threatening to rain and we wanted to be able to have two hands to balance and hold on to things as we were hiking around. I did have my camera for some of it, but I wish I had it handy for more, as I feel like I missed a lot of pictures. It is what it is though, and I still think I got some amazing shots. In any case, this was a fun journey as well, and once again, we cut time off the suggested time for the hike. We totally rocked it.

So we finally landed in Corniglia, the third city, and we decided to get a bite to eat. Olivia and Pat just wanted some pizza, but the rest of us were starving as it was about 230 at this point maybe. So Andrew, Aaron, LC, and I sat at an outdoor restaurant with a grumpy waiter who gave us the stink eye for who knows what. Maybe it was because we were gross and disgusting, but there was no one else in the restaurant, so he should have been happy to have anybody there at all. In any case, we sat there, while Olivia and Pat enjoyed their pizza at a bench right outside of the restaurant, exiled. It was pretty amusing. After that is was onwards and downwards, literally.

Corniglia is one of the cities that you dont have to hike back down to, as it is up on the cliff. So to get down to the trail to continue on to Manarola, we had to go down a ridiculous snake stairway. It wasnt steep or anything, just very monotonous going back and forth and back and forth. And it wasnt a fun thing either, as it was a brick path. In any case, we got to the bottom eventually, asked some innocent bystanders to take yet anothr group picture, and off we went towrds Manarola. This was literally just a walk along the beach, as we didn't have to "hike" for the first half of this trail. It was pretty, though I wish there had been more to it. When we finally got to the real trail part, it was a welcome sight.

So we started a climb again, and got to this really pretty point where you could go down to the water, though it warned of a "dangerous descent," which Aaron, Andrew, and LC did. The rest of us enjoyed the views from up above. Then the others came back up and onward we went.

We then ended up in Manarola, a cute little city in Cinque Terre, that is very colorful. That is one thing that really stands out in my mind, how colorful all of these cities were. It was a pleasure getting there, and then there was no disappointment once we arrived. In any case, we didnt linger in Manarola. We just continued on to Riomaggiore.

Now to get to Riomaggiore from Manarola, we got to walk through the "Via dell'Amore," or Stree of Love. We were confused several times as to where this street began, as it was not very pretty or inviting. However, it was finally clear when we got there, as there was an arrow pointing towards the sea, with two interlocking hearts and a couple of locks attached. It is a very pretty walk, though there is no hiking involved. There is also a tunnel of love, which has been decorated by graffiti of love, as well as a bar or love, etc. Also along the path were plaqes with random Italian names of gods, nymphs, etc. They were kind of cool, so I took a couple of pictures of those. Finally rounding the last bend into Riomaggiore felt kind of anti-climactic, as it was grey and cloudy out, and we were tired and dirty from our long day. It is a pretty city, but the train station where the trail dumps you is not actually in the city. To get to the city you had to hike up a hill (concrete, not a trail). This was not on the agenda. Instead, we all got some gelato, and waited for our train into La Spezia.

The boys wandered off while we waited, whil LC and I helped the local economy by getting some shirts. The shirt was most welcome, as when we got back to La Spezia, we went back to our hotel, picked up our bags, and made use of the public bathroom to clean ourselves up and change. After we were a bit more presentable, we wandered down into La Spezia so Pat could get a gift for his wife, Pat and Aaron could get a kabob, LC could get a parfait, and I could get some fries. All in all, it was nice.

Our train ride back to the Villa was fabulous too. Unbeknownst to us, we got our own compartment. We had a door that closed, we could change the volume, lights, and air. It was pretty awesome. There was some political debate and such thoughout the ride, but I mainly did my reading, throwing in my two cents to the convo every now and then. The ride took almost an hour longer than it should have as we had to wait somewhere for something. But the car was so nice, and the company was so good, that it didn't really matter. In any case, that was that. A nice way to end a long day.

We are leaving the Villa now. Literally in about 20 minutes, and I am quite sad. However, new adventures await, so I am trying to think of that instead of the fact that I wont be back here again. The good news is almsot everyone is planning on getting together on the 20th in DC, so I have that to look forward to.

I will write on Venice soon, I promise, and add pictures as well.

Off on another adventure!

Looking Back

So I am sitting in an internet cafe in Venezia (so excuse the typos-Im usins an ITalian keyboard), and I am going to type about our last weekend in Cinque Terre as I realized I have yet to do so. Maybe tonight I will get to some more of Venize.

There were 6 of us who went on this particular excursion, Anrew, Aaron, Pat, Oliva, Lee Catherine, and myself. We got to have lunch at the Villa (yay, free food!) before leaving, so that was awesome. We then made our way tot he train station and off to La Spezia we went. Now La Spezia is not part of Cinque Terre, but it is quite a nice city just South, and you can easily take the train up. In fact, if you buy a 10 euro pass, you have all access to the trains and trails, so that is what we did.

I am getting ahead of myself though. The train ride in was fairly uneventful, minus the chattering Italian women for most of the 3 hours. We got off the train, and literally right across the street was our hotel. It wasn't anything fancy, but it worked for one night. We dropped our stuff off and left to explore the city.

La Spezia, or shopping mecca as we now call it, is a quaint, very Italian city. I did not see many tourists, though the shopping is unbelievable and the city is quite picturesque. We wandered all the way down the main street, walked along the marina/waterfront/harbor/whatever the heck it was, and took silly pictures in the beautiful gardens. We then made our way back into the city, wandered around, Olivia and LC did some of the aforementioned shopping, and then we found a place for dinner. I decided to be brave and try something new, pasta with shrimp instead of just my usual pasta. Sadly, this was not plain pasta with shrimp as I had imagined. Instead, it was pasta with sauce and HUGE shrimp, or what I call prawns. I tried it anyway, and sadly, it was not to my liking. Luckily, the waitress took it awaya nd gave me my usual, and did not charge us for that first pasta dish. After dinner we were all tired, so we were in bed by 11 to get up at 7 the next morning.

The following day was hike day, yay! We had a nice breakfast, love the international hotels, and made our way to the train station. It was a little cold, and rained off and on, but we were not too worried. Finding the trainw as fun, as we looked at the arrivals board instead of departures board first. Oops, my bad. We found the right track though, and even though everybody doubted I had us on the right train, we got exactly where we needed to be :-)

Our first stop was Monterosso al Mare. This is the northernmost city in the park known as Cinque Terre. We first wandered a bit more northward to see the Giant. I am not sure what the history of the Giant is, but he is really cool, so we took lots of pictures before heading to the trails.

At this point it began to rain. It wasn't too bad, and was in fact quite welcome as we thought it might keep us from sweating. So we began our hike, and I have to say, I knew I was out of shape, but those stairs killed me. I was fine on every part of the hike except those dang stairs. Its funny though, because three years ago I was leading the group up those stairs. This time I was the caboose. I have resolved to start running more so that doesn't happen again, lol. In any case, the 20 pound backback with all of our stuff (camera, water, jackets, money, phones, etc) didnt help, nor did tha rain. This trail was probably the most difficult of the 4 trails. There are parts where it is literally a foot wide, and other parts where there are literally 100 stairs. It goes up into the hills, on top of the Mediterranean, and through vinyeards. It is stunning, but tiring. There were parts of this particular hike where you could not see 2 feet in front of you due to the rain. We were so wet that all of our clothes looked a shade darker than they had in the morning. It was kind of nice because it kept us cool, but man, that made it tough.

In any case, we made it Vernazza, the next city, in less time than the route said it would, despite the rain, so that was cool.

I will have to update more later as I am out of time, so arreviderci, and I will be blogging again tonight from the Villa :-)

Venezia!

No time to write, as I am in an internet cafe in Venice with 8 minutes left, but I wanted to share that I am alive, well, and so happy to be here.

We got in yesterday, after sad goodbyes at the Villa. Granted, we will be back on Sunday night, but very few people will still be there. So it was quite sad.

Anyway, a few highlights to tease everyone...

-I made it back to my favorite restaurant after 3 years
-We took the vaparetto all around Venice and through the Grand Canal
-We have been to the Accademia and Rialto Bridges
-We have been to Piazza San Marco
-We had gelato
-We listened to the musicians serenading the crowd in Piazza San Marco
-We bought some jewelry (2 sets of earrings and a necklace for me)
-I found a really cool sepia old world map of Venice
-We bought some masks ( I will post a picture of what they look like soon) that I plan on using to make wall art

The time has been very relaxing, just wandering around and enjoying the city, and I am remembering why I love it so much. When we exited the train station yesterday, it was just a big sigh of happiness. Nothing has really changed, and as Dad said, it is kind of like Disneyland, so surreal. I am of course taking a ton of pictures, and will hopefully be posting them soon. It is back to the Villa tomorrow night, so I will work on it then.

Love to you all!

PS: The bugs attacked me my last night in the Villa, sigh

Simulations, Showers, and Bug Bites

So the simulation is over, done with, finisca! Woohoo! It actually was not as bad as I had thought it might be. I am actually happy that I was Attorney General and not the Secretary of State as Dani got a ton of questions and had to conjecture and such, while I just had to say this is our position because legally this is all we can do, end of story. There were some moments I wanted to kick some people as they wouldn't let me talk, and I hate yelling and cutting in. I think I eventually got to have my say though, so yay. In any case, it is all done now, so I just have to work on my paper (I have decided on Israel and Lebanon in 2006), and I will be done with the school portion of my time in Italy.

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but the the first week I was here I could not stand our shower. The water pressure was too much, the curtain billowed around and got stuck to you and I had to turn it off to shave my legs and then turn it back on and it was just a big pain. I figured it all out though. Since there are three girls using the shower, there are lots of bottles in there, so if I put a bottle on each side of the curtain, it doesn't billow around. Also, if I keep the water pressure just right, I don't feel like I am being hit with needles. Essentially, it is all working out just fine now, with only a couple more days left, lol.

On to bug bites. I think I mentioned before that I was doing alright bug bite wise. I spoke too soon. I have two new bites, one on my left calf which is nice and red and itchy and is a couple inches in diameter when you count the red area around the bite, and I have one on my foot where my flip-flop strap goes. It is mildly annoying to say the least. Also, funny story. I had a huge bite on my thigh that I obviously had an allergic reaction to, and as we were hiking last weekend, all three of the boys with us pointed it out at one point or another. Whether they were telling me I had a bite, like I didn't know, or saying that I had some weird red thing on my thigh. It was pretty amusing.

Anyway, we are off to wine tasting, so I need to finish getting ready and then go enjoy my night. I did add a couple of pictures into the Siena, Villa, and Florence albums, so good luck finding those pictures if you so desire, and I will write again soon!

Class

So today I was sitting in class, enjoying the lecture on POWs and the 3rd Geneva Convention in the morning and International Tribunals in the afternoon, and I got more and more annoyed with some of my classmates. Why? Because while I sit there and diligently take pages and pages of notes, they are playing free cell on their computers. Now don't get me wrong, I think laptops are great and wonderful for taking notes because it is faster to type than to write. However, I still sometimes think that they shouldn't be allowed in the classroom. People check email, play games, and do anything but pay attention when they have them in class. And when somebody who does nothing but play gets a position someone like me wants, it is super, super annoying.

Anyway. Tomorrow is the dreaded simulation with me as Attorney General. I am sonot looking forward to it. Our issues are Iran in 2009 (what should our foreign policy be), the ICC (should we sign the Rome Statute?), North Korea in 2009 (what should our reaction be to the recent missle launches), and Guantanamo Bay in 2002 (what should the US position be on detainees). For the issues in 2002, we are acting as if we are in 2002 and none of the relevat court cases have occured. I do not hae to act like anyone, I just have to do the job of the Attorney General. We are divided up into lawyers and policy makers, so I have outlined a bunch of lawyer-y stuff, such as the UN Charter Article 2 (4) that says no use of force is allowed, and UN Charter Article 51 which says it is allowed in self defense, and information on the Geneva Conventions Articles 4 and 5 on what makes one a POW and what you do if you are unsure. Its been interesting, but I feel like I have been cramming as we just finished lectures today, and most of todays stuff was relevant.So Charlotte (one of my roommates) and I talked a bunch of stuff out (she is the General Counsel for the CIA) and helped with positions. We also decided that while we can plan for the Guantanamo Bay and ICC stuff, we can't really prepare too much for the Iran and North Korea issues as it depends on what the policy people throw out as possibilities for foreign policy. In any case, this is a group with some very big egos, and I doubt we will have enough time to get through everything, but I have to make sure to get myself heard.

Then there is a paper I need to start, and I am still struggling to pick a topic. It is a response paper, not a research paper, and only 3-5 pages. Still, I don't want to just regurgitate what they have said in class, so it is a bit of a challenge. I am thinking about talking about the legality of the Nuremburg trials as they used ex post facto in applying laws that didn't exist at the time of the crimes committed. Or maybe looking into the war in Lebanon in the summer of 2006 and looking into the argument of whether or not Israel's invasion was legitimate. Another thought is to focus on Covert Action. Sigh. So many options.

In any case, I need to get ready for and go to bed as I need to be awake for the simulation tomorrow. We are doing a wine tasting in Florence after with dinner, so that makes it a day to look forward to... once the morning/early afternoon is over.

Good Night!

Ramblings on Sunday's Adventure

I uploaded pictures from both the wine tasting last weekend, and Cinque Terre this past weekend. You should be able to click on the links to the left and be taken right to the web pages. :-) For some reason Picasa won't let me add comments on the Wine Tasting photos, so I will try again another time as I need to get back to some reading after this post.

Yesterday was a very random day. We had decided the night before to meet around 1120 and leave around 1140, but no one except Lee Catherine and I were ready. Then, the people who were going with us changed: some dropped out, some added. On top of that, we invited one guy (who I am not a fan of to begin with), and he decided he wanted to go, but then he got in the shower. So at this point I was annoyed beyond belief because I was ready and we had a whole plan, and then this happened. I am just very impatient with these kinds of things I guess. I am just of the mindset that if someone invites you to go somewhere, and then you take an hour to get ready when they were all ready to go, its kind of annoying and obnoxious. So, that was not a good start to my day and put me in a very bad mood. Then, there is this guy (the one who I am not a fan of) who no one in the program really enjoys spending time with, but since I am nice (most of the time) to him, maybe he thinks I enjoy his company, because he is constantly invading my space and talking to me and generally just being annoying. So on the bus ride down into Florence, he kept talking when I was already annoyed with him in general, more annoyed because he had to shower before we left, and then even more annoyed because he wouldn't leave me alone. Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable ride.

Eventually we made it down to Florence, and off we went to an American Diner to get some brunch for Dani because he was craving some eggs. Unfortunately, the location of our destination was a surprise to some in our party, and they were not happy with eating American food in Italy. I understaood, but at that point I was so hungry, I didn't care (I hadnt had dinner the night before or breakfast that morning). So we ate there, the food wasn't great, but I must have beaten a record for how fast to eat a cheeseburger because one minute it was there, the next it was in my belly. As a side note, throughout the morning Lee Catherine was being excessively cheerful to counter the grumpy among us (and yes, I put myself in the grumpy category). Unfortunately, the constant chatter and happiness was more annoying than uplifting, lol. So good plan, but didn't quite work. I also think that that in addition to being pissed off about being so delayed in our plans and hungry, I was just ready for some alone time, as I havent had a lot of it since I have been here. So that might have contributed to my overall grumpiness, though I think it was mostly the time and food issues.

In any case, after brunch, I got us to the Accademia, where the David is. There was no wait to get in, so that was super nice. There was also a photography exhibit of work my Robert Mapplethorpe. It was mostly black and white photography, and he was compared to Michelangelo in the way that he did studies on the human body through photography like Michelangelo did with pen and paper. So I really enjoyed that. Then we went out to see the David, and it was as amazing as I remembered. I wanted to take a picture, but restrained myself. :-) Anyway, The statue is awe-inspiring and I really enjoyed seeing it again. What amazing me most though, was how quickly the others in our group looked at the David and then moved on. He was the whole reason for being there, and no one seemed as impressed as I was. It could all be perception, but who knows. After the David, I wandered around a bit more, and then went to the second floor to see the painteings, which of course we all Madonna with Child's and Christ on a Cross. So that was entertaining. Then we made our way to the gift shop where I bought a book on the David, and we then headed towards San Lorenzo Market. Also, the Accademia improved my mood immensely. :-)

The market was fabulous, as always. We split up, though Lee Catherine, Andrew, and I stuck together, and wandered around. LC got some belts and belt buckles, and then we all scored with the pashminas. We bargained and I ended up getting 4 of them for 25 euro, all 100% cashmere, and all of them soft and wonderful and warm. We also helped Andrew pick some out for his girlfriend and mom. It was a nice way to end the afternoon, and topping it off with gelato made it even better.

So that was Sunday. No Pitti Palace or Bobili Gardens because it poued off and on all day. (The rain followed us from Cinque Terre). The thunder was really impressive though, lasting for a minute at a time sometimes. The rain was fun to wake up to as well, as I was dry and warm in the Villa.

Anyway, that is all I have time for tonight as I need to get to some reading I didn't get to last week. So good night all, and more details on Cinque Terre to come soon, I promise!

A Quick Update

I am back alive, well, and exhausted from our experience at Cinque Terre. Just a few quick notes, and then I am off to bed for another adventure tomorrow.

-I can finally say I hiked the trails between all five cities
-It poured off and on for the whole first hike (1 hour and 20 min)
-I slipped and slid my way through the first 2 hikes, but no one in the group fell
-My favorite city might still be Vernazza
-I took way too many pictures which I will try to put up tomorrow
-I went with a great group and had a fantastic time

Tomorrow we plan on doing the Florence thing: Accademia for David, Lorenzo Market for pashminas and souvenirs, maybe head to Pitti Palace and the Bobili Gardens, and possibly hit Santa Maria Novella for some tea. We shall see.

Anyway, I will share more on the trip later. At this moment, it is time for bed.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

So yesterday I was neglect in my posting duties, so I apologize :-)

Before I continue, I should share that I was really excited to post yesterday from the patio and tell everyone that I was looking down upon Florence while writing to you all, but the internet wasn't working. So, I took it as a sign and did some reading for class instead. This morning, you will get me writing from the comfort of my room.

So yesterday: We had class all day, and I found the topics really interesting: intelligence, covert action, renditions, targeted killings, and war crimes. Some can be a bit depressing, but all are fascinating to learn about. I really wish we had more time to cover all of the topics in the course. Sometimes I feel like we rush through things because we have so much to cover. Almost like we have the same amount of material as last year, and not the same amount of time. So it can be a bit frustrating, but I still feel like I am learning a lot, and the whole experience has been great so far. For our academic fact, I learned that all covert action has to be sign off by the President, and that he has to tell Congress. Meaning, he has to tell a select group of 8, some of which my professor could not remember, but including the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Intel Committees in the Senate and the House, the Speaker of the House, and the Chair of the Armed Services Committee. Also, while the President has to tell them, it doesn't have to be immediately, it can be after the action has already begun. Interesting stuff.

So anyway, post class I sat outside on the balcony, doing some reading and enjoying the view of Florence. Then, dinner was at 7, and this was the first meal where I really didn't eat much. Usually they have something somewhat plain, but not last night. I survived though. After dinner, we all (7 of us) congregated in the library. I tried to catch up on some US news that had been piled up in my Google Reader (literally, about 80 news articles I had not read), followed the Angels game on my computer (they won!), and just relaxed and talked with everyone. I also made an imovie for one of the guys here. It was my mitzvah for the day as he is not one of my favorite people in the program. I did it though, and am quite proud of it actually. Anyway, after the time in the library, we (Pat, Aaron, Andrew, Kel, LC, and I) decided to head up to Fiesole at about 11pm to get some gelato. So we meandered up the hill, ate the best gelato I have had since I have been here, and then we sat at the pub J.J.Hills while the boys all drank their beer. After that it was homeward bound and bed time.

I think I mentioned earlier that my total number of bugbites had not been too bad, or that I had yet to have a bad reaction. Well, I spoke too soon. Literally the next day I was bit on my thigh and elbow, and bother are pretty bad, with the one on my thigh about 5 inches in diameter of readness surrounding the bite. So I used some hydrocortisone cream and took some benadryl last night, which seems to have helped. I will take some more today and hopefully it was get better soon. I hate being allregic to the bugs that bite me.

Anyway, on to today. We are going to Cinque Terre, catching the 157 train hopefully. We were going to leave earlier, but then we were told we could have lunch here first, so we decided to take the free lunch before heading out on our travels. It should be a fun adventure. We will get in tonight, wander arund La Spezia, and then hike the trails tomorrow before coming home. Then Sunday should be relaxing and a good time to further explore Florence. Hopefully it will all work out.

Next week we have our simulation, and I was picked to be attorney general, so that should be interesting. We shall see how it all goes.

Time to start packing and then off on my travels! I will write again on Sunday and be sure to take a ton of pictures :-) Ciao!

Hotels, Hostels, and Travel

So tonight after dinner we spent about 2 hours trying to figure out hotels and/or hostels for this weekends trip to Cinque Terre, and I am at the point where I just don't care. Im tired, I have a ton of reading to do, and its turning out to be more difficult than I thought. In addition, everyone thinks I know everything since I have been here before, but I don't. I may have a better idea than they do, but I am not God and last time I think it was Katie who found the hostel anyway. Sigh. What I really almost want to do is sign up for the Florence for Fun program where they have a bus, and for 40 euro, they take you there and back. My only concern is the timeline and if we have to be with the group for the hike. In any case, that is looking better and better as the night goes on.

As for class, today we talked about use of force, and it was very interesting. For our academic fact of the day, I learned that the word "war" is never used in the UN Charter. Who knew?

After class and lunch, we went to the Ufizzi Gallery. I have been there before, and while it is a great museum, I have to be honest, I am not a fan of seeing "Madonna with Child" or "Christ on the Cross" over and over and over, and I feel like that is all we really saw. We did go to see the Botticelli art, but there were only two of his: "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera." They were wonderful, but I'm not sure they made up for all of the Jesus I saw. In any case, we were there a couple of hours and then we got some gelato, came home, and had dinner. After dinner was our ill fated planning session, though I have now just been told that we are booking a hotel. Whoop de doo. I will be happier as it gets closer, I'm sure, I'm just fed up with it all right now.

So that was my day, a nice wake up call from mom, class that ran over as usual (though it was super interesting), lunch, ufizzi gallery, gelato, dinner, (failed) planning, reading, bed. Nothing too exciting. Thats it for now, so ciao!

Reading? Wine Tasting Sounds Better

So for tomorrows class we have over 200 pages of reading. I am not nearly done with it, but then again, neither is anyone else. I should be working on it, but I wanted to update everyone on wine tasting, as that is much more interesting. Also, the professor, while I think she is brilliant and really knows a lot on the topics she covers, really goes off on tangents and random paths that have nothing to do with the topic. So, I will get to my reading, I promise. But for now, a quick update on life at the Villa.

First, Sunday wine tasting. This was an event done through a company called Florence for Fun, and they provided transportation and three winery visits for tastings for 40 euro. Not too bad. The trip was to taste Brunello wine, which is made of 100% Sangiovese grapes. The sad thing was we had to be at the train station in Florence by 8am. This meant getting up at 630 and catching the 715 bus. There were 7 of us from the program who went: Lee Catherine, Aaron, Pat, Charlotte, Rachel, Tiffany, and me. Also on the trip were some high school girls, or if they werent in high school, they sure acted like it. Total, there were about 35-40 of us.

So off we went at about 815. I slept for a bit on the bus in the ridiculously uncomfortable seats, and we arrived at the first winery around 945. We had a tour, and then by 1030, we were tasting Brunello. As Lee Catherine said, it was double digits time wise, so we were ok. Also important to note...it was freezing and rainy. I dont know what I was thinking, but I thought Tusacny would be warm come late May early June. Apparently I was wrong. In any case, we tried two Brunellos at this winery, and while I really liked the first one, I decided not to buy anything.

Our next stop was just a hop, skip, and a jump away, and it was a winery owned and completey run by women. This made me really want to like the palce, but it just didn't happen. Then even had a cool wine called Cinderella, and had lots of art all over the place. Still, it jsut didn't quit do it for me. We also got to try multiple kinds of wine there (I only tried 2 of the 6 options), and while they were good, they weren't nearly as good as that first wine I had. At this point I was wondering if I should have bought that one bottle.

So off we go to lunch, and magically, our bus starts leaking from the rain. Of course, this wouldn't be my life if I didnt happen to be sitting directly underneath one of those leaks. So we jerry-rigged the curtain and tried to stay dry that way. In addition, it literally took the bus 20 minutes to finagle its way out of the place it had parked itself. Crazy fun, really.

Lunch was a free 2 hours in Piensa, a cute little Tuscan town. What was not so cute is that this was a day when the wineries open their doors to tourists, and so Piensa was packed. On top of that, it began to really rain. and we could not get a table at any restaurant for 4 people, much less 7. So we split up, and Lee Catherine, Pat, and I staked out a table, but then some other people snaked it it from us. So we turned our attention to a smaller table, and stalked a couple until they left, at which point we took their table. This was a cute table under an awning next to a huge Italian party. About 15 minutes into our lunch, it started pouring. It literally seemed like the sky was dumping buckets of water on us. We were attempting to stay dry, but the wind kept blowing the rain under the umbrella we were sitting under. So we went inside to pay our bill, then ran outside under an archway. A couple minutes later, the rain let up a bit, so since we had about 20 minutes til the bus was supposed to come, we wandered to a gelateria. Lee Catherine and I got distracted by a store however, where we each bought our moms a gift. Then we made our way to the gelateria, and the skys proceeded to open up again, soaking us as we ran to the bus with our gelato.

Next we went to our third and final winery, where we were greeted with a fabulous glass Rosso and some toasted bread with amazing olive oil. This is a winery owned by a family, and one of the sons gave us the grand tour. After the tour, we were let into a tasting room, and plied with sandwiches and cheese, in addition to 2 types of Brunello, grappa, and a dessert wine. We stuck with tradition and all in the tour had the grappa together. I found it nasty and will be happy never trying it again. I felt the same way about the dessert wine, lol. The Brunellos though, were fantastic. The atmosphere was great too. The father came in and flirted with the girls and took some pictures with us. The mother came in and scolded him in Italian. The mother also shooed away all of the Italian men who were coming in to see us since we were mainly a group of girls. all in all, it was fun and we got a lot of wine there. So, to pay them back for their generaosity, I got my 2 bottles of wine, the Rosso from when we first came in and one of the Brunello's, in addition to some olive oil. We can take back to bottles, so thats it for me. :-) Finally, we all got together...minus the boys...and took a picture for the winery. We then made our way back to the bus, and slept peacefully all the way home.

We missed dinner at the Villa, but Bridie, our keeper of sorts, pulled out some leftover for us from the fridge in the kitchen. And that was pretty much it for the weekend.

Today, we had a guest speaker from the DOD come, and he spoke mainly about WMD's. Apparently this was his first time teaching a class, but he did a grat job and I really learned a lot. For example, for our academic fact of the day, we looked at case studies of nations with nuclear weapons and those who don't. Fascinating to me is that South Africa had them, and gave them up when they decided they didn't need them anymore. Sadly, not all countries agree to do busniness that way.

Also, today was a holiday, so there was no staff at the Villa to help wth lunch or dinner. So, as I was on scullery duty at lunch, I had a lot to do. It was all good though, we got it done and lunch was delicious as always, though not as filling as usual, seeing as it was all cold stuff, and not the big pasta meal we are used to. For dinner, the 12 of us went up to Fiesole and met Dr. J, one of our professors, and Chris Bidwell, the guy who lectured us today. We had a great big dinner and lots of fun conversation. Im happy that though I do not necessarily like all of the people in the program, I can get along with them just fine. All in all, its a pretty sweet deal.

I meant to mention it earlier, but so ar I have only gotten 4 bug bits. One on my right foot, one on my left ankle, one inside my right wrist, and one on my forehead, and none of them have gotten as infected as I usually get.

I will get to the wine tasting pictures hopefully tomorrow. We are going to the Uffizi in the afternoon, but I should have some free time. Just keep an eye out on the left for links to the pictures.

And on that note, I am off to do some reading before going to bed. Night!

Captions

Just an update: I have added captions to the pictures from Siena and Pisa

Pisa and Pictures

First, pictures. I have uploaded pictures from Siena, as well as those from our day in Pisa and evening in Florence. I haven't added comments yet, but I will soon. I have also added the links to the pages on the left, and I will add additional links whenever I have new albums available. I will let you know when new pictures go up and you can just click the link.

On to Pisa. We woke up at about 830, were ready to go by 930, and got stuck waiting for Andrew. Who knew a boy could take longer to get ready than me. Anyway, we ended up leaving the Villa around 955 for the 10am bus, and after booking it up the hill, we still missed it. So we spent an enjoyable 15 minutes exploring the farmers market of sorts happening near the bus stop, Lee Catherine bought some earrings for a friend, and we caught the next bus down to the train station. Amazingly enough, we caught the 1057 train, and off we went to Pisa.

On this trip was Lee Catherine, Pat, Andrew, and myself. It was a good, relaxed, and fun group, so it was a good, fun, and relaxed trip. We got into Pisa in about an hour, so I got some reading done on the train. Then once we got there we were starving, so we wandered into a cafe because, as Andrew noted, "The furniture looked nice." Bad choice. The waitress was crazy, and we have a whole mayonnaise story about the meal, which explains Lee Catherine looking down disgustedly at her plate in the Pisa pictures. In any case, after the meal, we meandered our way through the city and made our way to the Piazza dei Miracoli, or Square of Miracles, where the Cathedral, Crypts, Baptistry, and famous Leaning Tower of Pisa all reside. We took the requisite pictures leaning on the Tower, and then bought our tickets to get into the famous places. We wanted to climb the Tower, but the earliest reservation was for almost 5, and we wanted to be back in Florence by then. So, no climbing of the Tower, which I am sure we were all secretly relieved about considering how much we had climbed the day before.

So off we went to the Crypts, where I had never been. It is kind of spooky as they have interred people in the ground. Basically, you are walking on dead people. Never a cool thought to have. We decided to have fun with it all though, and imitate some of the statues. And let me tell you, there were some fun statues. I particularly liked the ones with books, but didn't really copy those. We also noticed some of those interred had died within the past couple years, so that was kind of creepy. They are restoring the artwork in the Crypt as well, so that was kind of fun to see.

After the Crypts we went to the Baptisty and the Cathedral. I have been to both before, so I wandered a bit, took the requisite pictures, and basically took a rest as the others explored in more detail. Once they were done we made our way out of the Square of Miracles, where I stopped to get a silly touristy bag that actually zips closed, and Lee Catherine picked up a leaning shot glass. As we were leaving we passed a guy selling forks as bracelets, who showed is that they are usable when one goes on a picnic and forgets a fork. Right.

We of course stopped for some gelato and espresso, and then took our time back to the train station. On the train, Lee Catherine and I did some reading, while Andrew and Pat watched a couple episodes of How I Met Your Mother on my ipod. They shared the earphones and laughed at the sam things, which Lee Catherine and I thought was cute.

After arriving back in Florence we called some of our other friends from the Villa to come down and meet us, and while we were waiting we went to get some more coffee (not me of course :-) ), and find a free bathroom. Luckily, I remember a free one from my last time here, so that was nice. Then I took the little group the market and Boar made out of a melted Siena bell, and finally to Ponte Vecchio. We walked across it, took some pictures, and were on our way to find a place to relax when I saw a super cool piece of art being sold. However, I didn't want to pay 15 euro, so I pointed it out to Lee Catherine and kept walking. The guy followed me saying he would sell it for 10 euro, which was still too much to my thinking, as I wasn't planning on buying anything. Then he went down to 6 euro and I couldn't resist. After all, over half off? Who am I to say no to that? Anyway, its pretty cool and I think it will be nice on my wall in my new apartment...wherever that may be (but thats another story).

So we continued on our way, got Andrew and Pat some gelato, and then relaxed in the Loggia in Piazza della Signorina while waiting for the others to arrive. Andrew and Pat got kicked out for eating in the Loggia, but came back once they had finished. Then, of course, the others called to tell us they had arrived. So we met a the Duomo and decided to wander and find a ristorante off the beaten path to avoid the tourists. Mission accomplished, we found one.

Now there were seven of us, the original 4 plus Olivia, Aaron, and Kel. We ordered two pitchers of wine, and lots of appitizers, and a variety of first courses, second courses, salads, pizzas, etc. One would think that with all of that, m plain pasta dish would be easy. Not so much. They sent it out twice in a broth after explicitly asking for only olive oil. Sad for me. But anyway, it was tasty once they got it right. Also, the company was good, so after eating and chatting from730-1030, we finally headed out. We went back to that first gelateria because Lee Catherine really wanted some of that gelato, but it was closed. So we found another, and then made our way back to the bus stop and from there, home. I was able to lead everyone around all day again, which was fun. All in all, it was a good day in every possible way.

I still need to share about Sunday's wine tasting, but that will have to wait for another time.

I have to give my academic fact of the day, which is that 1958 was known as the National Geophysical Year, to study space and Antarctica. We actually learned a lot about Antarctica today, like the fact that 7 countries have claims there: UK, NZ, Australia, Norway, Chile, Argentina, and France. Oddly enough, the US and Russia do not. Interesting stuff.

Anyway, I think that is enough for tonight as it is 1230 and I do have more class tomorrow. So good night, enjoy the pictures, captions are coming, and love to all!

Comments

I think I fixed the problem with the comments. Now everyone should be able to leave one if they would like to. :-)

Weekend Update Part 1

Alrighty, here is the long awaited weekend update. I think it will have to only be part one because I need to go to bed soon since I have class tomorrow, but we shall see how far I get.

So, the weekend started on Thursday night. Actually, for some people it started on Wednesday night, as the birthday girl's celebration began at midnight. I did not partake in that celebration as we had class Thursday morning and, after all, we are here for school. So Thursday night we called a couple of cabs up to the Villa, as 9 (4 guys and 5 girls) of us were going out. Sadly, only 8 people can fit into 2 cabs. However, with some cajoling and begging and pleading, the drivers let us in. So we sped down into Florence to a bar that Dani, one of the guys in the program, had heard about from some friends. It was alright, nothing too exciting. In fact, it was an English pub, which wasn't exactly what we were looking for in terms of entertainment. We did get a visit from a guy selling hats through the window, so that was fun, but not enough to entice us to stay. So we moved on to Twice, which we weren't sure if it was pronounced the English way or Italian way, which would be like "Twee-che." We found out it was pronounced the English way by the weird looks we got when pronouncing it the Italian way. In any case, Twice was a dance club, and we had a lot of fun. One could say we had too much fun as we did not leave until about 2am. This meant that we had to find cabs to get us back to the Villa as it was too late for public transportation, and in addition to that, the buses were on strike that day. So we meandered and made our way to the Duomo, where we figured there would be cabs. We tried calling to get a couple to pick us up, but no cabs were to be had. So we finally flagged one down, but we ran intot he problem of 9 people again. So, the other four girls piled in and I waited with the guys for another cab to show up. Luckily, this happened within about 10 minutes. Funnily enough, the other cab got lost and ended up following us up to the Villa once we were in the hills of Fiesole. Needless to say, we did not get a whole lot of sleep that night. In fact, it was about 4 am when I last checked my phone for the time. It was fun though, and I am happy I can now say that I have experienced the night life in Florence.

The next day was our planned trip to Siena. There were 7 of us who went. We met at about 11, caught the 1130 bus down the hill, went to Florence For Fun to book our tickets for the Wine Tasting on Sunday (more on that later), and then headed on over to the bus station. I have done his many a time, the bus from Florence to Siena or the opposite, so it was kind of fun to lead everyone and know exactly what to do. There are two buses to Siena: the Direct which takes longer and goes through more cities, and the Rapid, which goes straight from Florence to Siena. We took the Direct one because it was leaving earlier than the rapid one, but man, did it take forever, about an hour and 40 minutes. However, it still got us there before the Rapid bus, so yay.

Arriving in Siena was like a great big welcome home. Stepping into Piazza Gramschi it was almost like I never left...at least until I looked around. There were some changes I noticed immediately. The first being that the Jolly Hotel is no longer the Jolly Hotel, but the Hotel Excelsior or something. Also, my favorite pizza by the slice store to stop at as we rushed to catch our bus to our weekend destination is no longer there. It was a sad realization. However, as we walked toward the Piazza del Campo, it mattered less and less as the memories came flooding back: where I bought my sunglasses, where I had class, where we stopped for panini's, the Palio, the Contrade, all that is so uniquely Siena. It was fabulous. And telling everyone what was what, and what the flags meant, and some of the history was awesome. I remembered my way around and got us to the Campo pretty quickly. From there was a quick break to look around and use the facilities, and then it was onward and upward, climding La Torre del Mangia. Now I have done this twice before, but the views never get old. And it is amazing to share the view and city I lvoe with the new friends I am making, especially when I see them falling in love with the city as well.

So before I continue, I should mention who these people are. Everyone knows of Lee Catherine and Andrew, my friends from before the trip. Then there is Pat, who Andrew and I met on the plane on the way over here. Also in our group was Olivia, a New Zealander, Dani, a guy who is only 20 and still an undergrad, and Briana, who is a PhD student and has hip problems and so walks with the help of a cane of sorts. I was impressed with Briana because she climbed everything we climbed, and did it with an extremely positive attitude. I think she was paying for it later when she wasn't feeling well, but she says it was worth it.

Anyway, after our time climbing the numerous steps and enjoying the views and taking lots of amazing pictures, we made our way back down the Tower and enjoyed some gelato as our reward. At this point, Dani left us to hang out with some people he met up in the Tower and to hang out in the Piazza. The rest of us headed over to the Duomo, where we bought 10 euro tickets to see the Cathedral, Baptistry, Crypts, and to climb the Double Arches. Olivia left us here to wander the city, while the rest of us went in and explored the Duomo. The Crypts were new for me, so that was nice, and climbing the Arches was fun as well. I had to kind of cajole everyone who was still with me, and tell them that it would be worth it and different from the Tower climb a coupke hours earlier. They caved, followed me up, and were suitibly impressed. We were able to hear the drums from a parade of one of the Contrade as well, which was amazing and definitely took me back to when I lived there and the parades happened every week. We took more pictures before finally climbing down and heading back to the Piazza del Campo to meet up with everyone who had dispersed earlier. Then we slowly made our way back to the bus stop, winding our way through the streets, stopping for some panini's and sweets. Finally we got on our bus, the Direct which is not so direct again, and made our way home. This was an extremely loud bus, which sadly made it impossible to sleep.

So we arrived back in Florence at about 9pm, and were all starving. Dani decided to leave the 6 of us to go party with the people he had met in Siena, and the rest of us decided to stop in a ristorante on the way to our bus back up to Fiesole. So we stopped in the first place that looked good and ended up having a fabulous dinner at about 930/10pm. After much vino and talk and amazing food, we made our way back up to the Villa, catching an 1130 bus, getting us home at about midnight.

All in all, it was a great day with lots of old memories coming back, and new one being formed. The group of people I went with were all very relaxed and it was easy to enjoy the day. I was told I was a good tour guide, which is nice to hear, and I was happy to be able to do it. So much has stayed the same in Siena, which was nice to see. I was afraid it would be entirely different and make me sad. Instead it lived up to my expectations. Olivia even came up to me the next day and told me how much she loved the city and that it was probably her favorite Italian city now, which made me very happy to hear. :-) I guess Siena is a city I will never tire of visiting...which is not such a bad thing all things considered.

So it is now midnight, and I have class in the morning, so I will try to update you all on Pisa and the wine tasting tomorrow. Buona Notte!

Weekend Madness

So I am alive and well, just very, very busy. Thursday night we went into Florence to celebrate someone's birthday, meaning we didn't get to bed til 4am. Then yesterday was Siena, which was as amazing as I remembered and had hoped. Today we are off to Pisa and then to wander Florence. Tomorrow is a wine tasting tour starting at 8am( three wineries, tasting brunello wine, yum). I promise to write more and upload some pictures, but I just wanted to give you a sketch of what I am up to and let you know I am alive and well in Toscana. :-)
Ciao!

Class and Celebration

Today we had class in the morning followed by class in the afternoon. Our morning class was a carryover of yesterday, talking about the relationship between international law and domestic law, and then we ended the morning session with a lecture on torture. This was an interesting and disheartening class. However, it was also fascinating. This is why it didn't bother me as much that we went 45 minutes over class time and 15 minutes into our lunch time. It just meant we started our afternoon class, on Human Rights, a half hour later. For the academic fact of the day, I learned that the United Nations charter is the first document to mention Human Rights as a norm/privilege, and this was written in 1949.

I was on scullery duty today at lunch. Sadly, the other person who was on with me was unaware that she was supposed to be helping me. On top of that, she is handicapped and can't carry plates or anything, so Im not sure why she is on the schedule to begin with. In any case, it wasn't too bad. I do need to go check when I am on the schedule next, and hopefully this time there will be someone with me.

Tonight we are going into Florence as it is one of the girls' birthday. She just turned 24 so we are going to celebrate. The villa baked a cheesecake/pie thingy and had a candle and everything for her at lunch, which was very sweet of the staff. I originally wasn't going to go into Florence with everyone, but I realized Im in Florence and I should take advantage of the location and get out and do things I wouldn't normally do. Plus, I like (almost) everyone in the program, so hanging out by myslef in the Villa while they are out in Florence is kind of silly.

Tomorrow we are going into Siena and I am pretty excited about that. It will be fun to see my old stomping grounds and see how much I remember. I want to climb the tower, wander aimlessly, get some gelato from my favorite gelateria, relax in the Piazza del Campo, see the Duomo, and just enjoy myself. There are a bunch of us going tomorrow, so I may be the unofficial tour guide. I hope I remember enough and don't say the wrong things, lol. We shall see how it goes. I will be sure to take lots of pictures as always, and I will let you know when I post them. :-)

Time to travel and Happy Weekend!

More Photos

Here are the pictures from today:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mroth01/Firenze#

If you go back to the first album you can see pictures of my room. :-)

A Day of Knowledge and Fun

So today was another fun day at the Villa.

I woke up at about 8 to the sounds of birds chirping and the smell of jasmine coming through my window. I decided to check my computer, and mom was on! It was about 1115pm her time, so we were able to talk while I got ready for my day, which was very nice. After that, we went down to breakfast and then to class.

Class was interesting today, and I feel that I learned quite a bit. On this note, to spice things up I have decided to do a little academic fact of the day. This proves that I am going to class and learning, and I get to share little tidbits of what I am learning, so yay. Today one thing I learned was the difference between a treaty and a convention. A treaty is generally bilateral, and a convention is multilateral. So conventions are often called treaties when in fact, they are technically not. However, they are just as binding, regardless as to the name, as long as Congress ratifies them. So there is our nugget of knowledge for the day.

Class actually went long today. We are supposed to be done at 1130 so those on scul duty can go help set up. What is scul duty one might ask? Scullery, or scul, involves helping to set up lunch (or dinner), clear plates if there are 2 courses, refill the bread baskets and water pitchers, and clean up at the end. We are all on the schedule to pitch in (I am on scul for lunch tomorrow). Since we got out at about 1205, and lunch is supposed to start at 12, it was already set up when we arrived. So, those on scul got a break. After lunch we had some free time, then we went down to Florence.

In Florence, we had a history professor give us a guided tour. It was interesting because he was sharing information that was new to me, and that was bringing back old memories and knowledge that has been stored in the back of my mind for three years now. But I did learn more and just generally had a good time being back in the city. After our tour we had about an hour or so to hang out before the bus back up to Fiesole, so Andrew, Lee Catherine, Pat, Kel, Briana, and myself got some gelato (yum!) and made our way back to the Piazza della Signorina, where the Palazzo Vecchio is and where the (fake) statue of the David stands. We took some fun pictures and wandered back to the bus stop. Our bus back to town was hot, crowded, and smelly, but it was an adventure.

We got back late from Florence, so those on scul duty got a free pass again. Dinner was fabulous as always. Thinking back, it isnt just the food that makes the meals so good here. There are 12 students in the program, all but two who are in grad school, and then there is the "den mother" who makes sure we do scullery duty and keeps the place running smoothly for the students, and Dr. Joyner, one of the professors, at every meal. We start dinner at 7 and end up sitting and chatting long after we are all done eating. It is just relaxing and fun. Since there are so few of us, we are getting to know each other pretty well and while I wouldnt say there are no cliques, there isnt really a divide or anything, so its nice.

I think we have figured out where we are traveling. This weekend we are going to explore Tuscany with a group of students. I am super excited to see Siena again. :-) Next weekend we are going to Cinque Terre. While I have been there before, we didn't get to hike all of the cities, and I think we are going to try to see Genoa for a day as well. The following weekend is after the program ends, and we are going to go up to Venice for a couple days, and then come back to Villa, pick up our bags, and then continue south to the Almalfi coast. There, we will go to Napoli, Pompeii, Capri, and maybe Sorrento. Then, its back up to Rome and to the US of A. Quite the crazy month. We shall see if it all works out as planned, as plans have a tendency to change without notice.

I suppose thats it for tonight. I will be uploading my pictures from today some time tonight, so keep an eye out for that.

Love to you all!

First Full Day At The Villa

So today was my first full day in Fiesole. I woke up as charmed as I was when I went to sleep.

I woke up many times throughout the morning, but got out of bed at 830am. the view was just as good as I remembered. :-) I went down to breakfast, and then off to class at about 945. We had an introduction to the course and to international law, and then we had a break for lunch. Lunch is the main meal here, and it was two courses of goodness. If anyone was worried about me eating, don't. It was delicious and I ate more than I should have. After lunch we had more class until 3, followed by a free afternoon. Lee Catherine (who arrived during luch today), Andrew, Pat (who we met on the plane yesterday) and Aaron (who is from Indiana) and I went up to the city center to check it out. and when I say "up," I really mean up. It is up a realllllly steep hill. I think I worked off the gelato I ate there, as well as my lunch from earlier in the day. It was that steep. The city is quaint, kind of reminding me of Siena a bit. Siena is a bit more Medieval, but Fiesole was cute and charming.

So something I learned today, since I am here for school and all, has to do with international law (big surprise, i know). In the Constitution of the United States, there is a "supremacy" clause, which basically states that treaties and statutes are the supreme law of the land. In other words, though many people don't believe in international law, treaties are one of the main sources of international law and they are held on equal ground with statutes that are created by our own legislature. I don't know why I never knew that, but I didn't. So, now everyone (who didn't know that before) knows.

We have dinner in about an hour, so I am going to work on catching up with the news from the States until then, and work on some reading after dinner. So until tomorrow, ciao!

(and ps...I took pictures of my room and will probably be loading them tomorrow after our tour of Florence when I have more pictures to add)

First Pictures of the Villa

http://picasaweb.google.com/mroth01/TheVilla#

An Adventure With Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

So I am now sitting in my amazing room at the Villa in Fiesole, Italy.

The day of travel started yesterday I guess? My friend Andrew flew on the same flight as I did, so his girlfriend kindly picked me up on their way to Dulles at about 3 for our 6pm flight. It was a bit rainy in DC, but nothing to be too concerned about. We boarded at about 530, and Andrew and I were on different sides of the plane, so we went our separate ways as we boarded. I was in the second to last row, which was nice because I had space to my right as I was in the aisle and instead of there being 5 people in my row, there were only 4. Sadly, there was also no room for my carry-on because there was only room for three peoples carry-ons for some reason. Honestly, I think the girls I was sitting next to just didnt want to put any of their stuff in the overhead compartments or squish anything. In any case, it was lucky I had the aisle because I had a place for my feet to go since my bag was not under the seat in front of me.

As for the flight itself, it was pretty uneventful. I did my reading for Tuesday and Wednesday (over 100 pages) and watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother that United so nicely provided. Dinner was a salad, roll, and brownie because they ran out of chicken and the pasta looked quite nasty. The flight was about 8 hours, not too bad. We had a tailwind of about 100 mph for most of the time we were over the Atlantic, and ended up arriving around 30 min earlier than scheduled. I didnt sleep more than a half hour, partly because I was doing my reading, partly because I wasn't tired, and partly because I have a difficult time sleeping on planes. Then there was the fact that every time I started to nod off we hit a particularly rough patch of turbulence. This trip in particular we had quite a bit of turbulence. It was fun and added to the adventure of it all, though i have to admit at times it was a bit more scary than exciting.

Now this wouldnt be a true Adventure without some mishaps. Lee Catherine was planning on taking a different flight from Reagan to JFK, and from JFK to Rome. She was going to land about 3 hours later than me, and we were going to meet and then journey to the Villa together. Well, she found out that her flight was delayed by an hour at about 2pm DC time. So she told me she would text me to let me know if she made her connection in JFK, and we would keep our fingers crossed that we would meet up in Rome. Sadly, we did not cross our toes as well, and her flight out of DC was delayed til 9, meaning she missed her connection. So, she will be arriving tomorrow and continuing the adventure on her own from FCO to the Villa. I sent her some information on how to get here, so hopefully that helps.

Now back to my story. As Andrew was sitting in his seat, about halfway through the flight his seatmate pulls out a stack of papers to read. Turns out, his name is Pat and he is going to the Villa too. So, we all met up after the flight, went through customs (easy peasy), picked up our luggage, and meandered toward the Leonardo da Vinci express that takes you from FCO, which is outside of Rome, to the Termini station, where we caught our train to Florence (Firenze). The guy selling the tickets at Termini was a jerk, but that just added to the adventure, and we figured it all out.

So we, Andrew, Pat, and myself, are on the train to Florence, and all of us are tired since none of us slept on the flight, but no one wants to sleep and miss our stop. It must have been hilarious waching us all nod off and then jerk awake. We found our stop though, lugged our luggage to a taxi, and began the 15 minute ride out of Florence and into the hills of Fiesole. The Villa is up a windy road with amazing views of the city down below. It is absolutely breathtaking. I had fellow students help me drag my luggage up the steps and into my cozy room I will be sharing with Charlotte and Lee Catherine. We have a view of the front gardens and the city of Florence. We also have our own bathroom, woohoo!

One of the staff came to our room, gave us a fan, and welcomed us to come down and eat some lunch, so I had some salami, strawberries, bread, salad, and an apple. Quite delicious. Then Andrew, Charlotte, and I wanered around the Villa taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful day.

Some sad news is that my Italian phone is not working. I have tried multiple plugs and it just wont charge or turn on. So, while it was a great idea, it just didnt pan out. We will just have to communicate through the blog and email and my American phone if need be.

Its funny, but it all still seems kind of surreal that I am here. I don't think it really hit me until we got in the cab at the train station and were winding our way through Florence. At that point, you can't really deny that you are here. Then, the Villa itself is so amazing that it just goes back to being surreal. We shall see how it all feels tomorrow when I wake up.

In any case, it has been a nice welcome back to Italia.

I will post pictures right after I finish with the entry, so enjoy and please leave comments :-)

Hours in Transit: 8 on plane, 2.5 on train, .3 in a taxi

Last Day In The States

So I spent today packing, picking up some last minute items from CVS where I spent too much money as per usual, having my reading rebound at Kinkos, and watching the two movies I had from Netflix.

Now to address my full day in reverse order.

The two movies were "The Terminal" and "Sense and Sensibility." I enjoyed them both, and now my account is on hold so I don't have to pay for it while I am not using it. Gotta love Netflix.

As for the reading, the professors posted all of the reading online, and recommended we print it out at home and bring it with us since there is only one printer at The Villa. So, I printed it all out, took it to Kinkos to be bound, and am now the proud owner of four huge readers. Sadly, they added two more articles this past week, so I could either leave the two new ones out or have Kinkos add them to the books. I chose to have Kinkos put them in so I don't lose anything. It will make it easier to deal with, but man, there is a ton of reading.

CVS was necessary for face wash and sunscreen, among other things. I ended up spending more than I wanted, but I figure I will use everything, and whether I use in DC or Italy doesn't really matter. The main thing is that I don't want to run out of anything there and then have to find the equivalent of what I use. So I have full bottles of everything and will probably come back with extra, but oh well.

I have packed one big suitcase, with all of my clothes and toiletries, one carry-on with my readers, extra fun books, and electrical stuff, and then the carry-on for under my seat with my reader for the first week, some pleasure reading, my computer, and some snacks. Lee Catherine also has two carry-ons and one bag to check. However, her back is much smaller than mine, and I am wondering if I over packed. I also don't really have room to bring stuff back, and I remember the fiasco last time where I ended up buying a bag off the street, and I really do not want to do that again (remember that Dad? quite the adventure). So, I may be going through my bag again tonight or tomorrow morning to purge some stuff. The big issue is I don't want to be too casual for class, and I want to make sure to have stuff to wear for dinners and such, but I feel like the weekends will be much more casual. Sigh, so much to take into consideration. And the big question...drum roll please...what stuffed animal do I bring? I like to bring one to sleep with that goes in my luggage, and then I bring one on the plane to act as my pillow. The one I was going to bring might be too big, unless I move some stuff around, which I might do. Luckily I don't leave until 3, so that gives me the whole morning to ponder and change things.

Hours Until I Leave For Italy: 19 (about)

One Week

Hard to believe, but in a week I will be in Italy. It still doesn't seem quite real to me, probably because I am no where near ready to go. I am also still caught up in my internship, which ends on Friday. :-( My plan is to work on laundry tonight, and to begin setting aside things I know I want to take with me. I also have to pull out my summer stuff, which is stored under my bed at the moment, as it is still too cold here to wear it. I have a feeling this is going to be quite a long process.

I made plans to meet with Andrew this week, a fellow American University student going on the trip who is also on my flight. I think we will work on the logistics of getting to the airport and all that fun stuff. I also picked up a travel book for my time in the South of Italy after the program ends, and that is exciting, but still in an out there kind of way.

Anyway, the point of this was just to say wow, its coming up realllly soon, and yet it still doesn't seem real.

Countdown Until I Leave for Italy: 6 days