For our Easter Break, Shannon, Jess, Megan, Kelsey and I went to Sorrento. Everyone wanted to go to the beach; therefore we traveled southward. We planned to see Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, Positano, and the Amalfi Coast. I was especially excited to be going to see the Amalfi Coast since I had heard how beautiful it was. But before we got too wound up, we had to get there first. From Sansepolcro, it would take us one bus and two trains; one from Arezzo to Naples and the other from Naples to San Agnello. Overall the whole trip took about seven hours. We reached San Agnello at about 9:45 p.m. on Thursday.
The name of our hostel was Seven Hostel. It seemed to be dedicated to the teenage crowd because all I saw were half dressed drunken teens walking about. The interior was very modern and appeared to be clean. I was relieved to see that there was a restaurant and bar on the first floor. Since we were all tired from the trip, we could eat downstairs and not have to walk far for dinner. Once we settled in to our room, called Style, we headed downstairs for dinner. The people were being entertained by others singing karaoke. We found a table for the five of us and immediately looked over the menu. No one knew what to order, so we just randomly picked. I order gnocchi with melted cheese and white sauce. It sounded appetizing as the waiter described it, but was nasty. It tasted as if someone had poured sand in my mouth. Luckily, I was able to switch my meal and I had a burger instead. It was not an American burger, but it was better than my first dish. Once we finished eating, we joined in the party and did karaoke. It was really fun; I sung Rihanna’s Rude Boy and Usher’s Hey Daddy, while the girls snapped pictures and laughed.Some of the girls had a few drinks then we all went upstairs. As soon as I got into bed, I fell asleep.
On Friday, we took a day trip to Pompeii. It was not far from our hostel; only two stops away on the metro. Once we arrived we had no idea where to go so we followed the crowd. It led us to the entrance to Pompeii, where we paid 11 euro to enter. This exhibit was a very large one; it was filled with the ruins of Pompeii. I was able to see the two preserved victims who were killed in the volcanic ash and the brothels were women were held. I found these two sights the most interesting. In the brothel there were stone beds and frescoes painted of the different sexual positions that these women were forced into. Some of the pictures were very disturbing. It was very crammed inside and only took about 10 minutes to walk through. The brothel was very hard to find, but it was much easier to leave. After seeing the brothel, the fast food restaurant, the biggest house in the ruins, and the baths we left. We spent about two hours inside Pompeii Museum. Next we went to find food for lunch. We found a little corner restaurant, just outside the exit. The food was very expensive so everyone decided to share pizzas. Shannon and Jess split one, while Megan and I did the same. Kelsey wanted only a sandwich, so everything worked out perfectly. Once we had all finished eating and had seen all that Pompeii had to offer, we hopped back on the metro.
We got off the metro at the last stop, Sorrento. Here we planned to shop, which turned into window shopping, and to take lots of pictures of the coast. Things seemed to be much more costly than I expected, and I was not prepared at all. I did not buy much, but I was able to find a doll for my niece. It was a cute little rag doll that read Italy on the bottoms of the feet. It resembled a doll that my grandmother had in here house when I was younger. It is something that my niece can keep forever. After getting lost in the tiny streets of Sorrento, we found a cute little place for dinner along the coast. Ironically, it was a place that was mentioned in Kelsey’s Rick Stevens Guidebook. The prices were very cheap; the spaghetti was three euro and fifty centesime. I spent seven euro on a great meal and was very pleased. The walk back from the restaurant was a lengthy one. There were numerous steps and streets to cross. It took us so long to reach the main street, Corso Italia. Luckily, when we reached the street we were just in time for the procession.
It was called Verendi, (I’m guessing since it takes place on a Venerdi). It was amazing. We scurried down the street and found a place to stand just before the music began. I was in the front and able to see everything, which angered many of the citizens. It was very hard to understand what was actually taking place because I was being shoved the entire time. There was a very rude Italian old man trying to see the procession, who kept pushing me to see, although he was able to see just as much as I could. The procession was not too long. It consisted of men and children dressed in black robes marching along the streets. Some people were carrying different symbols as they walked which reflected the twelve Stations of the Cross. This was an important parade that takes place every Easter and I’m glad that I was able to witness it.
Once that was all over, we hurried through the overcrowded streets to the metro. We knew that we would be squished but wanted to attempt to get seats. The station was flooded with people. It was very hard for us to find seats, but we did. Since it was the last train to leave; it took a long time for it to finally pull off. The conductor was waiting patiently for the last few people to buy tickets and get on. After about 15 minutes we finally took off, thank goodness that we were only one stop way. It was even more difficult for us to exit the train than to enter. We slid past people until we were free. We quickly walked back to our hostel, cold and tired.
On Saturday, we planned to go to Capri. Fortunately, we were able to save money since our hostel provided a trip to Capri with our stay. We would only have to pay 52 Euros apiece to get a guided boat ride around Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, and then to Capri. We would be able to see all the grottos, caves, and beautiful waterfalls along the way. Plus, we would be provided lunch and unlimited drinks for the entire 6 hour trip. It was simply an offer that we could not pass up, so we accepted. The view was breath-taking; I was able to take incredible pictures. The water was so blue; I had never seen anything like it. I cannot wait to get home to show my family. There was only one minor problem, sea-sickness. I felt pretty good the whole way up the coast, but as we got closer and closer to Capri I began to feel sea-sick. I thought it was a bad idea from the beginning to sit at the front of the boat, but I did it anyway. Once I felt bad, I crawled to the back of the boat and waited for us to reach land.
Finally we reached Capri and it was as beautiful as the postcards. Once I was able to feel land under my feet, I felt much better. We were advised to take a bus of some sort up to the main piazza, but had trouble finding it. We walked back and forth until we finally saw all the other tourists racing into a line with tickets. We mimicked them and were soon on the trolley. It was different than anything I had ridden before. It inched up the mountain slowly as if we were climbing stairs. It was very time-consuming and took about 15 minutes to reach the top.
We were let out at Piazza di Capri, the main square of the island. It was lined with many shops, restaurants, and booths for iced drinks. Most of the shops were pricey, so I mostly window shopped. There were plenty of shoes that I wanted, but simply could not afford. After we had seen enough we headed back to the main square. We were supposed to meet with back at the boat at 3 30 pm. We all bought lemon and melon iced drinks for our hike back down to the dock. I had a mix of both and it was delicious. By the time I finished my slushy we were at the dock. We quickly removed our shoes and hopped back on the boat. I was a little iffy about going back to the front of the boat so I stayed in the rear. The ride went much smoother than coming. We stopped by the blue grotto, where Shannon and one of the other girls from our hostel jumped in the water. The driver advised for people not to go swimming since the tide was high and the water was freezing. However; they went anyway. Once the girls were back on the boat, we proceeded to Sorrento. From the blue grotto it only took about 20 more minutes. When we reached the dock, we were happy to see that our van was waiting to transport us back to our hostel.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
When in Rome, do as the Romans do
Our second day in Rome began just as the first. We went to breakfast, using our free ticket from the bed and breakfast, at Mauri’s. We each had a croissant and a cappuccino. Afterwards, we headed for the Vatican Museum. We had no idea what to expect, but as we walked closer we saw the line. It looked as if it would never end, but we soon found the back. Most of the people in line were tourists, as we were, and only wanted to see the famous Sistine Chapel. The chapel is only one of the magnificent attractions to see once inside. We stood there for a total of two hours and a half. It was dreadful, but we really wanted to get in so we waited. Close by the entrance I had begun to grow impatient, but realized we had come too far to turn around. Once inside, the wait was still not over. We had to divide into lines to buy our tickets, which all could have been avoided if we simply would have reserved them online. Unfortunately, we did not.
After going through the security check we were free. Inside we saw beautiful fountains, sculptures, and frescoes. The last stop of the museum was the Sistine Chapel. It was beautiful; every inch of the wall was covered in art. The room was very crowded and hard to maneuver through, but we made it. In the process we lost Kelsey, so Jess and I figured we would wait for her outside. The exit of the Vatican was a long one. There were many hallways and gift shops as we passed, which were only a means to make money. In my opinion finding the exit took longer than seeing the museum itself. After about 10 minutes we successfully exited the museum. We decided to sit on the steps directly across the street, so we would be able to see Kelsey when she exited. It took Kelsey a long time to come outside; I figured she had the same trouble as we did. While waiting Jess and I ate the snacks we had packed for lunch and “people-watched”.
After nearly 15 minutes, Kelsey finally appeared. Once we were reunited we went to see the famous Spanish steps. We took the metro to Piazza di Spagna, a great example of Roman Baroque Style. During the Renaissance period, it attracted numerous tourists and artists. The same can be said today because of the Spanish steps. The steps were created by Francesco De Sanctis in the 18th century. They link the piazza to the Trinita Church. The fan-shaped steps were filled with tourists; you could barely see the steps. There were children and many teenagers playing near the Barcaccia Fountain. The fountain is located at the foot of the stairs and shaped like a boat; decorate in the coat of arms of Pope VII Barberini. Although the piazza was rather packed, we managed to take a few good pictures and leave.
Earlier that morning, we had had an unexpected change of plans. It turned out that our bed and breakfast was overbooked. As a result, we had to leave a day earlier. It did not bother us too much because we were extremely tired. It seemed as if we had seen all the main sites that Rome had to offer, minus St. Peter’s Basilica. It can just be our main excuse to come back and see more. Due to this change, we were able to get back to Sansepolcro on Saturday night. We were able to save money and sleep at the Palazzo comfortably.
On Sunday, we went outside to enjoy the fair. We walked around for at least two hours shopping and tasted different foods. For lunch we ate piadinas, which is a typical sandwich of the fair. I also tasted the caramelized strawberries; they were delicious. In the market I brought a pair of shoes for myself and I brought three toy cars for my nephew. He has been telling everyone back home that I am going to bring him back Italian cars, so I wanted to keep my promise. After the fair, I went back to the Palazzo to do some much-needed work.
Assisi
For our required excursion, the group took a trip to Assisi. It is in the province of Perugia and located in the Umbria region of Italy. It is the home of the legendary Saint Francis. He was born in 1182 and died in 1226. He was a very powerful and religious figure during the late Middle Ages, who developed an order for friars in 1208. His followers were called Franciscans. The world honors him as the patron saint of the animals and ecology, hence the reason that he is sometimes placed in people’s gardens. Inside the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi, one can find an outline of Saint Francis’ life. The church, indeed the whole town, is an enormous tourist site and contains his tomb.
We had the privilege of visiting the basilica. It was incredible, it look just as it did in pictures. The view was beautiful and very different from others I have seen. The basilica is built on a hill on the west side of Assisi, which explains why it has so many steps. It combines two churches into one: the Upper and Lower church. Both parts are decorated in amazing frescoes by a number of prominent artists of the time. The Upper level of the church was painted by the famous artist, Giotto. The range of artists who worked on the interior of both portions combined to make the church a very unique example of Italian art.
My favorite fresco of Saint Francis was called The Confession of the Woman of Benevento. This was the 27th fresco, located on the left side of the church near the alter. It told the story of how Saint Francis blessed and raised a woman from the dead, after she had confessed the only sin she had not previously confessed in her former life. Her confession was witnessed by clerics as she died a second time in peace. The picture shows the devil fleeing from the scene in confusion as the blessing is taking place. I found this fresco very interesting and realistic. I really enjoyed the idea of the devil fleeing away as a shadow, as the angel appears. It was good to know the background information and the sequence before looking so I could understand. On a whole, the group spent close to 45 minutes in the church.
Following the church, everyone broke up into groups and ate lunch. It just so happened that everyone ended up eating lunch in the same place. It was this small restaurant not too far from the church that was very cheap. The pasta that I ordered was not too good, I only ate it because I was starving and did not want to go hungry on the hike later. I am sure that Margrita could have made the pasta much better. By the time we all finished eating, it was time to meet up again for our hike. We were all hesitating to go, because the weather was not looking too good. There was a high chance of rain and the clouds began to get darker as we walked closer.
We were set to meet up at Porta Cappucini and when we reached the top it began to thunder. Dr. Webb thought it would be in our best interest if we did not go walking because we might get caught in the rain. Instead we took the bus to another place. We went to San Giustino, a small town fairly close to Sansepolcro. This was said to be one of Saint Francis’s favorite spots. It was built for him in 1212, a little before his death. We were able to go inside a tiny hill-side church and see the life of friars. There were two priests who were still living in the church in the 21st century. From the location, we were able to see a breath-taking landscape. We could see a little of Sansepolcro and Citta di Castello. While we were there, it began to rain and we left. We reached the Palazzo a little before 5 pm and had the rest of the evening to ourselves.
After going through the security check we were free. Inside we saw beautiful fountains, sculptures, and frescoes. The last stop of the museum was the Sistine Chapel. It was beautiful; every inch of the wall was covered in art. The room was very crowded and hard to maneuver through, but we made it. In the process we lost Kelsey, so Jess and I figured we would wait for her outside. The exit of the Vatican was a long one. There were many hallways and gift shops as we passed, which were only a means to make money. In my opinion finding the exit took longer than seeing the museum itself. After about 10 minutes we successfully exited the museum. We decided to sit on the steps directly across the street, so we would be able to see Kelsey when she exited. It took Kelsey a long time to come outside; I figured she had the same trouble as we did. While waiting Jess and I ate the snacks we had packed for lunch and “people-watched”.
After nearly 15 minutes, Kelsey finally appeared. Once we were reunited we went to see the famous Spanish steps. We took the metro to Piazza di Spagna, a great example of Roman Baroque Style. During the Renaissance period, it attracted numerous tourists and artists. The same can be said today because of the Spanish steps. The steps were created by Francesco De Sanctis in the 18th century. They link the piazza to the Trinita Church. The fan-shaped steps were filled with tourists; you could barely see the steps. There were children and many teenagers playing near the Barcaccia Fountain. The fountain is located at the foot of the stairs and shaped like a boat; decorate in the coat of arms of Pope VII Barberini. Although the piazza was rather packed, we managed to take a few good pictures and leave.
Earlier that morning, we had had an unexpected change of plans. It turned out that our bed and breakfast was overbooked. As a result, we had to leave a day earlier. It did not bother us too much because we were extremely tired. It seemed as if we had seen all the main sites that Rome had to offer, minus St. Peter’s Basilica. It can just be our main excuse to come back and see more. Due to this change, we were able to get back to Sansepolcro on Saturday night. We were able to save money and sleep at the Palazzo comfortably.
On Sunday, we went outside to enjoy the fair. We walked around for at least two hours shopping and tasted different foods. For lunch we ate piadinas, which is a typical sandwich of the fair. I also tasted the caramelized strawberries; they were delicious. In the market I brought a pair of shoes for myself and I brought three toy cars for my nephew. He has been telling everyone back home that I am going to bring him back Italian cars, so I wanted to keep my promise. After the fair, I went back to the Palazzo to do some much-needed work.
Assisi
For our required excursion, the group took a trip to Assisi. It is in the province of Perugia and located in the Umbria region of Italy. It is the home of the legendary Saint Francis. He was born in 1182 and died in 1226. He was a very powerful and religious figure during the late Middle Ages, who developed an order for friars in 1208. His followers were called Franciscans. The world honors him as the patron saint of the animals and ecology, hence the reason that he is sometimes placed in people’s gardens. Inside the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi, one can find an outline of Saint Francis’ life. The church, indeed the whole town, is an enormous tourist site and contains his tomb.
We had the privilege of visiting the basilica. It was incredible, it look just as it did in pictures. The view was beautiful and very different from others I have seen. The basilica is built on a hill on the west side of Assisi, which explains why it has so many steps. It combines two churches into one: the Upper and Lower church. Both parts are decorated in amazing frescoes by a number of prominent artists of the time. The Upper level of the church was painted by the famous artist, Giotto. The range of artists who worked on the interior of both portions combined to make the church a very unique example of Italian art.
My favorite fresco of Saint Francis was called The Confession of the Woman of Benevento. This was the 27th fresco, located on the left side of the church near the alter. It told the story of how Saint Francis blessed and raised a woman from the dead, after she had confessed the only sin she had not previously confessed in her former life. Her confession was witnessed by clerics as she died a second time in peace. The picture shows the devil fleeing from the scene in confusion as the blessing is taking place. I found this fresco very interesting and realistic. I really enjoyed the idea of the devil fleeing away as a shadow, as the angel appears. It was good to know the background information and the sequence before looking so I could understand. On a whole, the group spent close to 45 minutes in the church.
Following the church, everyone broke up into groups and ate lunch. It just so happened that everyone ended up eating lunch in the same place. It was this small restaurant not too far from the church that was very cheap. The pasta that I ordered was not too good, I only ate it because I was starving and did not want to go hungry on the hike later. I am sure that Margrita could have made the pasta much better. By the time we all finished eating, it was time to meet up again for our hike. We were all hesitating to go, because the weather was not looking too good. There was a high chance of rain and the clouds began to get darker as we walked closer.
We were set to meet up at Porta Cappucini and when we reached the top it began to thunder. Dr. Webb thought it would be in our best interest if we did not go walking because we might get caught in the rain. Instead we took the bus to another place. We went to San Giustino, a small town fairly close to Sansepolcro. This was said to be one of Saint Francis’s favorite spots. It was built for him in 1212, a little before his death. We were able to go inside a tiny hill-side church and see the life of friars. There were two priests who were still living in the church in the 21st century. From the location, we were able to see a breath-taking landscape. We could see a little of Sansepolcro and Citta di Castello. While we were there, it began to rain and we left. We reached the Palazzo a little before 5 pm and had the rest of the evening to ourselves.
All Roads Lead to Rome
For our second independent travel break Jess, Kelsey and I went to Rome. It is located in the central-western portion of Italy, along the Tiber River in the Lazio region. Rome is the capital of Italy and the largest populated city in the world. It has some of the world’s most influential subjects such as architecture, artwork, culture, politics, law, literature, and religion. It also includes the Vatican City, an independent city controlled by the Pope since 1929. Due to this, Rome is constantly flooded with tourists year-round and given the nickname “the capital of the world”. After reading about it and all its glory, I was eager to explore Rome and see all it had to offer.
We left for Rome on Thursday after a lovely lunch prepared by Margerita, our cook. We had penne pasta for the first course and chicken with vegetables for the main course. I ate all I could because I did not want to get too hungry on the train. After all, it would take 4 hours to get to Rome from Sansepolcro. Once we finished our delicious pasta we headed into the crowded streets to catch our 2:30 bus. The streets were crammed because there was an annual fair taking place, similar to the State Fair in North Carolina. The only difference is that this one celebrates the middle of Lent. I was a little upset that we would miss the celebration but I figured if we got back early enough we could still. There were all kinds of booths, demonstrations, and food along the streets. We tried our best not to get lured in by all the stands, but were unsuccessful. Kelsey and Jess both wanted to buy earrings that were 2 euro. I did not want any so I stood along the side, waiting for them. After they bargained for earrings, we went to search for the bus stop. It was very confusing since the fair had already begun. The fair covered all of Sansepolcro and the bus stop was moved from its original location. Instead of being near the café and restaurant as usual, it was further up the street on the right. It would take us about 3 minutes longer to get the bus stop. Just as we were crossing the street, our bus flew past us. I quickly checked my watch and it read 2:23. The bus was early and the next one was not coming for another hour. Instead of getting discouraged, we made the best of our time by walking through the fair.
We arrived in Rome at 9: 30 p.m. and immediately went to find our Bed & Breakfast. Everything was still open at this time so we were able to buy our Roma pass and a metro ticket inside the train station. I was really excited to purchase the pass because it would save us a lot of money in the long-run. This pass covered all public transportation, two museums, and discounts at other museums for three days. We paid 25 Euros for the pass but it was well worth it. After that was settled we went to find the metro. We got on line A which would take us directly down the street from our Bed & Breakfast. The metro went fast; it took less than 10 minutes. Our Bed & Breakfast was called Domus Betti. It was run by an older Italian man name Eugene. He and his wife had both run two bed and breakfasts, but once they divorced they separated the businesses. Eugene spoke English very well and was able to give us useful advice on Rome. He told us to be careful when crossing the streets and about thieves.
Later on, we took a long walk throughout the city. Our first stop was the piazza where St. Peter’s Basilica is located. Although it was night time, the basilica was remarkable. I tried to take pictures but my camera was not working properly. Our second location was at the Trevi Fountain, and we took a few pictures there. We were bombarded by men wanting to take our pictures, but simply ignored them. I wanted to shout out BASTA, my favorite Italian word, but they quickly understood we did not want any pictures and went away. We each made a wish, threw a penny in the fountain for good luck, and left. The walk back seemed to take forever. My feet were hurting from all the walking. Soon after we reached Doumus Betti, we went to sleep.
On Friday, we woke up at 8 o’clock and had breakfast at a nearby café called Mauri. Our breakfast was covered by our bed and breakfast, which saved us money. After eating, we headed to the Roman Coliseum. We used our Roma pass for free transportation to the Coliseum and for free admission. There were tons of people lined up to enter, but lucky for us we were able to skip the line. Once inside, we took beautiful pictures from the second level. We were able to find a nice man to take a picture of all three of us together. We spent about an hour inside the Coliseum then proceeded to the Roman Forum next to it. Just as the Coliseum, the Roman Forum was filled with tourists.
The Roman Forum contains a large number of monuments and temples that date back to the 5th century B.C., indeed back until 608 B.C. We walked up Palatine Hill and saw the Arch of Titus. We wandered around inside for a little over 2 hours; there was so much to see, which made it hard to leave. Once we finally made our way out, it was time for lunch. There was a stand close by, where we bought sandwiches. I had ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato on mine, while Jess had tuna. Kelsey was smart and packed her own lunch. We found a bench nearby to sit on and eat. It did not take us long to finish and before we knew it we were walking again.
We went to the metro station to get a lift to the terminal. All four parts of the Museo Nazionale Romano were located by the terminal. We wanted to see all of them but ended up visiting two. We went to the Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme and Terme Diocleziano. The Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme was formally a Jesuit College next to the Termini Station. It is one of the world’s largest exhibitions of art and contains four floors, including a basement. There are many famous masterpieces inside including Discobolo Lancellotti (Lancellotti Discobolus) and Ermafrodito dormiente (Sleeping Hermaphrodite). All the sculptures were astonishing and most of them I had studied before. Afterward, we scurried through traffic to the Terme Diocleziano. This museum built by the order of the emperors Massimiano and Diocleziano in 298 A.D. It includes a rotunda, the hall of Sant’Isidoro, luxurious gardens, gyms, changing rooms, and successfully illustrates the birth and diffusion of the Latin alphabet. Masterpieces from famous artists, such as Michelangelo, can be found inside the museum as well. We found this museum to be very interesting, calm and peaceful. We snapped a lot of pictures in the gardens and near the fountains. We sat and rested for quite some time before leaving. We liked this museum better than the first one.
Following the National Museums of Rome, we visited the Pantheon. It is a very famous site that was built over 1800 years ago. It still remains today as a tribute to the building skill of the ancient Roman Empire. It is one of the world’s oldest stone structures and contains the tombs of Raphael and Italian kings. The interior is amazing and the ceiling has only one cut-out, the oculus, which was once the only source of light. When we entered we were overwhelmed by its interior and people. The Pantheon was flooded with tourists and we escaped after taking many pictures.
Considering that we had been looking at historical sites all day, we all agreed that it was time for a little shopping. We searched nonstop for markets but it was harder than we expected. We saw a few booths but nothing like the markets in Florence. However, we did stop at one booth to buy t-shirts that were three for 10 Euros. I bought two shirts for myself and one for my brother. I was excited that I had finally found the perfect shirt for him; it read “Roma” in graffiti. As soon as we were done we went on main streets to look for places to shop. We found a huge street called Via Corso that was lined with many stores. There were also a lot of American stores there, such as H&M. It is one of my favorite stores, so it was only a matter of time before we stopped there.
First we went into a store called Zara’s, which seems very popular in Italy. Kelsey was dying to shop there since she had seen so many people carrying the bags around. We spent about a half hour inside, despite the fact that we spent 15 minutes looking for Kelsey. She was lost inside the store, so Jess and I waited outside until she found us. Next we went to H&M. It was packed with people, mostly Americans. I was able to find two cute shirts, a cheap pair of sandals, and accessories for fewer than 30 Euros. While comparing our items at the register, we noticed that we had the same shirt but in a different color. We all intended to wear it on our beach trip to Capri in two weeks. We spent little time in H&M, but it was well worth it. Shopping made us work up an appetite, and by then it was time for dinner. We did not have trouble deciding where to eat. We all agreed to finish our day off Americanized, by having dinner at the Hard Rock café.
We left for Rome on Thursday after a lovely lunch prepared by Margerita, our cook. We had penne pasta for the first course and chicken with vegetables for the main course. I ate all I could because I did not want to get too hungry on the train. After all, it would take 4 hours to get to Rome from Sansepolcro. Once we finished our delicious pasta we headed into the crowded streets to catch our 2:30 bus. The streets were crammed because there was an annual fair taking place, similar to the State Fair in North Carolina. The only difference is that this one celebrates the middle of Lent. I was a little upset that we would miss the celebration but I figured if we got back early enough we could still. There were all kinds of booths, demonstrations, and food along the streets. We tried our best not to get lured in by all the stands, but were unsuccessful. Kelsey and Jess both wanted to buy earrings that were 2 euro. I did not want any so I stood along the side, waiting for them. After they bargained for earrings, we went to search for the bus stop. It was very confusing since the fair had already begun. The fair covered all of Sansepolcro and the bus stop was moved from its original location. Instead of being near the café and restaurant as usual, it was further up the street on the right. It would take us about 3 minutes longer to get the bus stop. Just as we were crossing the street, our bus flew past us. I quickly checked my watch and it read 2:23. The bus was early and the next one was not coming for another hour. Instead of getting discouraged, we made the best of our time by walking through the fair.
We arrived in Rome at 9: 30 p.m. and immediately went to find our Bed & Breakfast. Everything was still open at this time so we were able to buy our Roma pass and a metro ticket inside the train station. I was really excited to purchase the pass because it would save us a lot of money in the long-run. This pass covered all public transportation, two museums, and discounts at other museums for three days. We paid 25 Euros for the pass but it was well worth it. After that was settled we went to find the metro. We got on line A which would take us directly down the street from our Bed & Breakfast. The metro went fast; it took less than 10 minutes. Our Bed & Breakfast was called Domus Betti. It was run by an older Italian man name Eugene. He and his wife had both run two bed and breakfasts, but once they divorced they separated the businesses. Eugene spoke English very well and was able to give us useful advice on Rome. He told us to be careful when crossing the streets and about thieves.
Later on, we took a long walk throughout the city. Our first stop was the piazza where St. Peter’s Basilica is located. Although it was night time, the basilica was remarkable. I tried to take pictures but my camera was not working properly. Our second location was at the Trevi Fountain, and we took a few pictures there. We were bombarded by men wanting to take our pictures, but simply ignored them. I wanted to shout out BASTA, my favorite Italian word, but they quickly understood we did not want any pictures and went away. We each made a wish, threw a penny in the fountain for good luck, and left. The walk back seemed to take forever. My feet were hurting from all the walking. Soon after we reached Doumus Betti, we went to sleep.
On Friday, we woke up at 8 o’clock and had breakfast at a nearby café called Mauri. Our breakfast was covered by our bed and breakfast, which saved us money. After eating, we headed to the Roman Coliseum. We used our Roma pass for free transportation to the Coliseum and for free admission. There were tons of people lined up to enter, but lucky for us we were able to skip the line. Once inside, we took beautiful pictures from the second level. We were able to find a nice man to take a picture of all three of us together. We spent about an hour inside the Coliseum then proceeded to the Roman Forum next to it. Just as the Coliseum, the Roman Forum was filled with tourists.
The Roman Forum contains a large number of monuments and temples that date back to the 5th century B.C., indeed back until 608 B.C. We walked up Palatine Hill and saw the Arch of Titus. We wandered around inside for a little over 2 hours; there was so much to see, which made it hard to leave. Once we finally made our way out, it was time for lunch. There was a stand close by, where we bought sandwiches. I had ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato on mine, while Jess had tuna. Kelsey was smart and packed her own lunch. We found a bench nearby to sit on and eat. It did not take us long to finish and before we knew it we were walking again.
We went to the metro station to get a lift to the terminal. All four parts of the Museo Nazionale Romano were located by the terminal. We wanted to see all of them but ended up visiting two. We went to the Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme and Terme Diocleziano. The Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme was formally a Jesuit College next to the Termini Station. It is one of the world’s largest exhibitions of art and contains four floors, including a basement. There are many famous masterpieces inside including Discobolo Lancellotti (Lancellotti Discobolus) and Ermafrodito dormiente (Sleeping Hermaphrodite). All the sculptures were astonishing and most of them I had studied before. Afterward, we scurried through traffic to the Terme Diocleziano. This museum built by the order of the emperors Massimiano and Diocleziano in 298 A.D. It includes a rotunda, the hall of Sant’Isidoro, luxurious gardens, gyms, changing rooms, and successfully illustrates the birth and diffusion of the Latin alphabet. Masterpieces from famous artists, such as Michelangelo, can be found inside the museum as well. We found this museum to be very interesting, calm and peaceful. We snapped a lot of pictures in the gardens and near the fountains. We sat and rested for quite some time before leaving. We liked this museum better than the first one.
Following the National Museums of Rome, we visited the Pantheon. It is a very famous site that was built over 1800 years ago. It still remains today as a tribute to the building skill of the ancient Roman Empire. It is one of the world’s oldest stone structures and contains the tombs of Raphael and Italian kings. The interior is amazing and the ceiling has only one cut-out, the oculus, which was once the only source of light. When we entered we were overwhelmed by its interior and people. The Pantheon was flooded with tourists and we escaped after taking many pictures.
Considering that we had been looking at historical sites all day, we all agreed that it was time for a little shopping. We searched nonstop for markets but it was harder than we expected. We saw a few booths but nothing like the markets in Florence. However, we did stop at one booth to buy t-shirts that were three for 10 Euros. I bought two shirts for myself and one for my brother. I was excited that I had finally found the perfect shirt for him; it read “Roma” in graffiti. As soon as we were done we went on main streets to look for places to shop. We found a huge street called Via Corso that was lined with many stores. There were also a lot of American stores there, such as H&M. It is one of my favorite stores, so it was only a matter of time before we stopped there.
First we went into a store called Zara’s, which seems very popular in Italy. Kelsey was dying to shop there since she had seen so many people carrying the bags around. We spent about a half hour inside, despite the fact that we spent 15 minutes looking for Kelsey. She was lost inside the store, so Jess and I waited outside until she found us. Next we went to H&M. It was packed with people, mostly Americans. I was able to find two cute shirts, a cheap pair of sandals, and accessories for fewer than 30 Euros. While comparing our items at the register, we noticed that we had the same shirt but in a different color. We all intended to wear it on our beach trip to Capri in two weeks. We spent little time in H&M, but it was well worth it. Shopping made us work up an appetite, and by then it was time for dinner. We did not have trouble deciding where to eat. We all agreed to finish our day off Americanized, by having dinner at the Hard Rock café.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Meeting the Bambini
Week six marked the beginning of my service learning assignment for study abroad. This program was designed for students to learn more about Italian culture by teaching Italian students once a week. Each student was assigned a particular school whether primary, secondary, or high school. I was assigned primary school. The name was Scuola Primaria C. Collodi. Before going to the school, I was able to meet with my teacher, MariaTeresa, to discuss my responsibilities and ask questions. She informed me that there were about 25 students per class and that they were learning about months, seasons, numbers, and birthdays. At first I thought it was a lot of material to cover, but she later explained to me that I would cover only one topic each class. She suggested that I try my best to be very creative, while making my lesson plans and to be sure to include songs. She went on to warn me of how badly behaved her classes were. Once I heard that, I got really nervous. I had never taught a class before and on top of that the students were bad. The only time I had ever played the role of a teacher was when I was younger and taught my dolls. However, this was very different; these were real children. I did not know what to think, so I let my nerves do the thinking. I pictured these children to be so bad, hanging from the ceilings and running around everywhere screaming in a language that I could not understand. Luckily, I was wrong.
The children were well-behaved for the most part and knew a lot of English. The ages ranged from 6 to 8 years old. I even had the privilege of having one boy’s birthday during my visit. I took note of how it differed from in America. In the States, birthday parties usually take place in the class, but not in Italy. MariaTeresa yanked on his ears eight times and told him to sit down once we all finished singing “Happy Birthday” in English. I thought it strange, but the notion was similar to that in America. When it is someone’s birthday you hit or pinch them for the number of years they are turning, and then maybe a lick for good luck.
As soon as I walked into the room all the little heads turned and followed me as I made my way to the front of the class. They all stared for a minute and then as I began to speak English their faces lit up. I told them my name, age, where I was from and a few things about myself. I was curious to know about the children so I began class by going around the room asking for their names and favorite color. There were 23 children in the class and it took a long time to finish. By the time we finished, I had forgotten all the children’s names. Afterwards, I allowed time to ask any questions that they wanted to know about me. They asked me a variety of questions ranging from “how many brothers do I have” to “do I have a boyfriend”. As I laughed and joked with them all my nerves disappeared, and I was ready to begin my lesson. I stayed up all Sunday night planning my lesson. I ended up making games and a song about the months of the year. I thought it would be easy since I was learning about the months of the year in Italian class. I used apple print-outs and labels as visible aids for the children. I taped the months of the year to the board, while I had the students write their name on the apple print-out. My plan was to say all the months in Italian and again in English, followed by the students placing their apple on the board under the month that matches their birthday. I was able to explain successfully the directions, and everything went smoothly. Afterwards, I taught a song to help remember the months. First, I sang it twice and then I went line by line singing while the class copied me. It was a lot of fun and a great way for the students to participate. This class lasted for an hour and then it was time to move to the next class.
I found it strange that in Italy the teacher is the one that rotates from class to class rather than the students. MariaTeresa and I went to a total of three classes, teaching the same activity in each class. All the students enjoyed my singing, and learning about me. By noon, I was exhausted and hungry. Although I had a wonderful welcoming from the students; I was ready to return back to the Palazzo. I was glad that the experience was not as bad as I thought. Now I know what to expect for the weeks to come.
I was very excited for the weekend because we would remain in Sansepolcro. I was able to use this time to explore the city more than usual. I went on two walks with Bekah and Megan. We walked into the countryside and into the surrounding neighborhoods. It was a refreshing experience. I needed a break from traveling and from the Palazzo. I saw beautiful views in the country. Even though, there was a lot of mud from the rain earlier in the week it was still pretty. I saw the mountain tops that were covered in snow and a highway. Along the way, there were many chickens, dogs, and cats running about. Bekah and Megan found it amusing that I was afraid of dogs and screamed every time I laid eyes on one. The three of us talked about almost everything and I noticed in many ways we were very similar. Being that Bekah is a bride-to-be, it was only a matter of time before the topic of marriage came up. She told us how she originally wanted a beach wedding, but changed her mind because it involved too much planning. I agreed most beach weddings that are pictured in magazines cost a lot of money and as Bekah said requires a great deal of planning. As a result, she decided to have a normal ceremony in a church. She told us about her dress and other aspects of her wedding. I think it is cool that she is getting married. I cannot wait until I meet Mr. Right and get married. Marriage was just one of the many topics for conversations we had. Before we knew it, we had walked and talked all the way back into the walled city of Sansepolcro.
By that time it was 4 o’clock and all the shops were opening from the lunch hour. We looked in a few shops. I wanted to go and buy a pair of boots that were on sale the week before, but when I went in the store they were gone. I was a little sad but quickly got over it. We went into the farmicia with Bekah and then headed back to the Palazzo. After our walk, Megan and I relaxed in peace and quiet. Both Shannon and Jess went to Venice for the weekend, leaving Megan and me behind. It did not bother us too much; instead we took advantage of the time. We finished some homework and shared family stories. We were both curious to know about each other’s families, so we shared stories for about an hour.
Later on that night we watched a film called “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great action film-love story in the Greek Island of Cephalonia during the German and Italian occupation in World War II in 1941. It differed from all the other movies we had watched, being that it had a happy ending. I expected a sad one, but I was incorrect. The movie finished beautifully; Penelope Cruz was reunited with her long lost love from the war and she achieved her dream of becoming a doctor. All the main characters lived until the end, which was satisfying. There were many moments when I almost cried but caught myself. I would not mind watching that movie again.
On Saturday night all the girls watched another movie, called “Because I said so”. It starred Mandy Moore, a famous American singer. The movie was a comedy, much lighter than the usual war films. It incorporated the typical love situation, when the guy tries to pursue the girl of his dreams. It was all too familiar and grew boring at times. After that movie everyone went to bed early, because we had to get up at 7 a.m. to leave for Perugia. I wanted to see Perugia, since my Italian professor, Francesca, always talks about it in class. She had said it was the best place to visit and it has a beautiful landscape. I ended up going to bed at around 11 o’clock, but was constantly waken by all the commotion in the streets. It being Saturday night; the streets in Sansepolcro were filled with loud and drunken college students. I woke up at 1 a.m. and again at 6 am; then, before I knew it, my alarm went off. It took me awhile to get out of bed for some strange reason; my back was hurting. I was thinking that I had slept in the wrong position, but I knew right away that I would not be able to go to Perugia with everyone. I was rather upset, but then I realized my health comes first and that I can always go another time. I had to take medication and do a few exercises assigned by my doctor. I had not being doing the exercises as often as when I’m at home and I think that was the reason for my pain. I quickly went to tell Dr. Webb about my condition and that I would be staying at the Palazzo for the day. I really hate that I could not enjoy the experience with the girls but I’m sure they will tell me all about it.
The children were well-behaved for the most part and knew a lot of English. The ages ranged from 6 to 8 years old. I even had the privilege of having one boy’s birthday during my visit. I took note of how it differed from in America. In the States, birthday parties usually take place in the class, but not in Italy. MariaTeresa yanked on his ears eight times and told him to sit down once we all finished singing “Happy Birthday” in English. I thought it strange, but the notion was similar to that in America. When it is someone’s birthday you hit or pinch them for the number of years they are turning, and then maybe a lick for good luck.
As soon as I walked into the room all the little heads turned and followed me as I made my way to the front of the class. They all stared for a minute and then as I began to speak English their faces lit up. I told them my name, age, where I was from and a few things about myself. I was curious to know about the children so I began class by going around the room asking for their names and favorite color. There were 23 children in the class and it took a long time to finish. By the time we finished, I had forgotten all the children’s names. Afterwards, I allowed time to ask any questions that they wanted to know about me. They asked me a variety of questions ranging from “how many brothers do I have” to “do I have a boyfriend”. As I laughed and joked with them all my nerves disappeared, and I was ready to begin my lesson. I stayed up all Sunday night planning my lesson. I ended up making games and a song about the months of the year. I thought it would be easy since I was learning about the months of the year in Italian class. I used apple print-outs and labels as visible aids for the children. I taped the months of the year to the board, while I had the students write their name on the apple print-out. My plan was to say all the months in Italian and again in English, followed by the students placing their apple on the board under the month that matches their birthday. I was able to explain successfully the directions, and everything went smoothly. Afterwards, I taught a song to help remember the months. First, I sang it twice and then I went line by line singing while the class copied me. It was a lot of fun and a great way for the students to participate. This class lasted for an hour and then it was time to move to the next class.
I found it strange that in Italy the teacher is the one that rotates from class to class rather than the students. MariaTeresa and I went to a total of three classes, teaching the same activity in each class. All the students enjoyed my singing, and learning about me. By noon, I was exhausted and hungry. Although I had a wonderful welcoming from the students; I was ready to return back to the Palazzo. I was glad that the experience was not as bad as I thought. Now I know what to expect for the weeks to come.
I was very excited for the weekend because we would remain in Sansepolcro. I was able to use this time to explore the city more than usual. I went on two walks with Bekah and Megan. We walked into the countryside and into the surrounding neighborhoods. It was a refreshing experience. I needed a break from traveling and from the Palazzo. I saw beautiful views in the country. Even though, there was a lot of mud from the rain earlier in the week it was still pretty. I saw the mountain tops that were covered in snow and a highway. Along the way, there were many chickens, dogs, and cats running about. Bekah and Megan found it amusing that I was afraid of dogs and screamed every time I laid eyes on one. The three of us talked about almost everything and I noticed in many ways we were very similar. Being that Bekah is a bride-to-be, it was only a matter of time before the topic of marriage came up. She told us how she originally wanted a beach wedding, but changed her mind because it involved too much planning. I agreed most beach weddings that are pictured in magazines cost a lot of money and as Bekah said requires a great deal of planning. As a result, she decided to have a normal ceremony in a church. She told us about her dress and other aspects of her wedding. I think it is cool that she is getting married. I cannot wait until I meet Mr. Right and get married. Marriage was just one of the many topics for conversations we had. Before we knew it, we had walked and talked all the way back into the walled city of Sansepolcro.
By that time it was 4 o’clock and all the shops were opening from the lunch hour. We looked in a few shops. I wanted to go and buy a pair of boots that were on sale the week before, but when I went in the store they were gone. I was a little sad but quickly got over it. We went into the farmicia with Bekah and then headed back to the Palazzo. After our walk, Megan and I relaxed in peace and quiet. Both Shannon and Jess went to Venice for the weekend, leaving Megan and me behind. It did not bother us too much; instead we took advantage of the time. We finished some homework and shared family stories. We were both curious to know about each other’s families, so we shared stories for about an hour.
Later on that night we watched a film called “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great action film-love story in the Greek Island of Cephalonia during the German and Italian occupation in World War II in 1941. It differed from all the other movies we had watched, being that it had a happy ending. I expected a sad one, but I was incorrect. The movie finished beautifully; Penelope Cruz was reunited with her long lost love from the war and she achieved her dream of becoming a doctor. All the main characters lived until the end, which was satisfying. There were many moments when I almost cried but caught myself. I would not mind watching that movie again.
On Saturday night all the girls watched another movie, called “Because I said so”. It starred Mandy Moore, a famous American singer. The movie was a comedy, much lighter than the usual war films. It incorporated the typical love situation, when the guy tries to pursue the girl of his dreams. It was all too familiar and grew boring at times. After that movie everyone went to bed early, because we had to get up at 7 a.m. to leave for Perugia. I wanted to see Perugia, since my Italian professor, Francesca, always talks about it in class. She had said it was the best place to visit and it has a beautiful landscape. I ended up going to bed at around 11 o’clock, but was constantly waken by all the commotion in the streets. It being Saturday night; the streets in Sansepolcro were filled with loud and drunken college students. I woke up at 1 a.m. and again at 6 am; then, before I knew it, my alarm went off. It took me awhile to get out of bed for some strange reason; my back was hurting. I was thinking that I had slept in the wrong position, but I knew right away that I would not be able to go to Perugia with everyone. I was rather upset, but then I realized my health comes first and that I can always go another time. I had to take medication and do a few exercises assigned by my doctor. I had not being doing the exercises as often as when I’m at home and I think that was the reason for my pain. I quickly went to tell Dr. Webb about my condition and that I would be staying at the Palazzo for the day. I really hate that I could not enjoy the experience with the girls but I’m sure they will tell me all about it.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
"To be or not to be"
For the first independent travel break, my roommates and I decided to go to Verona. Verona is located in Veneto, one of the northern regions of Italy, and is one of the main tourist cities. The Roman Amphitheatre, where operas are held, attracts numerous people annually. Verona is known as the home of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Tourist can see both Romeo and Juliet’s houses, write letters to Juliet, and rub her right breast for good luck while there; we planned to do all those activities plus more.
After classes on Thursday, March 3 we traveled to Verona. It would take one bus and two trains to get there from Sansepolcro; but we were up for the challenge. The travel went very well until we reached Bologna. We were aware that we had to switch trains, but had trouble finding the right one. We looked on the departure board and found the train and binario (track) number. However, while reading we overlooked one small, but vital detail. Our train to Verona was to arrive on binario 3, so we went there. After 20 minutes we realized that something must have gone wrong because the train never showed up and the listing then read Roma. After double checking the board for the binario number we noticed it said: Verona binario 3 (oviest). We had no idea what oviest meant and the Italian guide book was no help. I quickly called Bekah, our residential director, for help. She informed me that it meant “west” in Italian, and that we were at the wrong track. As a result, we missed our train. The next one was not for another hour. We were really bummed, but instead of moping around, we cheered up by having dinner in Bologna. Since the next train was due soon, we did not want to eat too far from the station. The map did not show any close restaurants, so we settled for McDonald’s which was across the street from the station. Everyone knows that I hate McDonalds; but let’s just say I took one for the team. I had my first cheeseburger in Italy, fries, and a coke; while the others had chicken nuggets. We sat chatting endlessly about our experience thus far and what we planned to do once in Verona. I planned on seeing the Giusti Garden and a castle. The others had similar suggestions and wanted to go to Juliet’s wall to write love letters.
Two hours passed rather quickly and we were on the train again; this time the correct one. We did not have assigned seats, as before. I was happy to stretch out in the seat diagonal from Megan and began my reading for literature. Surprisingly, the reading was interesting and helped time go by faster. Before I knew I realized it was 11:00 at night and we were in Verona. Given that we arrived in Verona later than expected, a lot of plans were delayed. We anticipated getting maps in the tourist office but it was closed. It was dark, cold and rainy outside. We had no clue where to begin; this scared me because we were guaranteed to get lost with no map. A mixture of thoughts was running through my mind, but I decided that if we stayed on the main road we would be safe. I hoped that we would run into the bed and breakfast along the way, seeing that it was located in the town center. We went off into the night wishing for a savior, but luck was not on our side. Instead we wandered around Verona becoming more and more lost. There were hardly any people on the streets, businesses were closed, and there were few cars about. We passed two prostitutes and homeless people along the way, which was awfully frightening. We continued to walk onward, hoping we would see a small café of some kind, where we could ask for directions. I prayed repeatedly for direction and safety for all of us. After dragging both our tired bodies and luggage for about 30 minutes in the rain, we came across a small bar. I thought to myself, that God works in mysterious ways and my prayers were finally answered. We dashed into the bar, dripping wet, to ask for directions. Of course, no one spoke English so we had to use the little Italian we knew to communicate. Somehow, through all the jumbled Italian, an old man by the name of Johnny understood us. He said that he could not properly direct us in Italian because of our language barrier. He then offered to drive us to the bed and breakfast personally. He told us that his car was tiny and that he could only drive us in pairs. I was hesitant and suspicious but after all it was our only option left. Again, I prayed for our safety and that Johnny was a polite man who would not take advantage of us. I kept wishing that this situation was only a nightmare that I would soon wake up from, but it was not. As we proceeded to Johnny’s car my stomach began to fill up with fear and it felt as if I needed to vomit.
We divided into two; the first duo was Shannon and me, while Jess and Megan stayed behind. They waited inside the bar, while Johnny shuttled us away. In less than five minutes we arrived on Via Marconi, where our bed and breakfast was located. We could not breathe easily just yet; we still had to wait for Jess and Megan. As soon he dropped us off, I phoned Jess to make sure everything was all right. She said they were fine and would meet us shortly. Soon after I hung up the phone, I saw the small car pull up with Jess and Megan inside. I was relieved; but we still had one more thing to do; find B&B Divina. Luckily, it was not far and we safely settled in. Our first night was a crazy one; I labeled it the worst day of my life. I was so ready to fall asleep and forgot everything that happened.
Friday was a new day; we all woke up feeling better and eager to see Verona. We ate a small breakfast at the bed and breakfast then were on our way. First we went to Castleveccchio. This castle was built by the Romans and now serves as an ancient museum for tourists. We were allowed to take pictures inside, which made it even better. The castle was filled with wonderful artwork inside and amazing views outside. We were able to go to the top and take incredible pictures of the city. From that point, I was able to see two of the famous bridges in Verona and its beautiful landscape. We looked around in the castle for a total of two hours and loved every minute of it.
After leaving the castle, it was lunch time. We found a place on the same street as Castlevecchio, which had delicious sandwiches. Everyone had the same lunch; a ham, cheese, lettuce, mayo and tomato sandwich with my favorite soda, coke. Once we finished eating, we headed off again. We ran into a small market in the town square and could not help but stop. Everyone knows I love to shop, so I was overly excited. I wanted to find a few things for my sister and myself. I ended up buying postcards, magnets, and an Italian license plate for my sister. Oddly we spent little time in the market; we then went in the direction of Juliet’s house, since everyone wanted to write letters. There we found a huge flock of people doing the same thing as we: writing letters. People all around us scribbled on anything they could find and stuck their notes to the famous wall. Quite the opposite, we took our time putting much thought into every line of our letters. Everyone knew that Shannon was most eager, due to the fact that she had a lingering boy problem that she wanted to get off her chest. As we finished our letters we divided a pack of gum to attach our notes to the wall. We went one by one placing our notes on the wall as we took pictures of one another. Before leaving, we all rubbed Juliet’s breast for good luck and initialed the wall as a reminder of the great times we’ve shared so far.
As we were leaving Juliet’s wall, we were lured into a candy store. We all craved sweets and went wild in the store as if we were five-year-olds. I ended up buying four euro-worth of candy and the others spent more than me. To our surprise the candy was not as good as it looked. It was hard and tasted like dirt. Although the candy was nasty, it was a fun experience. We sampled all the candy on the way to the famous Roman Amphitheatre. The arena was remarkable; it looked just like the pictures. We climbed to the top and were blown away by the marvelous city view. I was very proud of myself for climbing to the top, for this was the first thing I have climbed since my surgery. I was so pleased with my accomplishment that I called my mom to tell her. From the top we could see everything in the city, I took tons of pictures. We sat and chatted in the arena for a while until it started to rain. It turned out that what we thought was rain was actually hail. It lasted for about 30 minutes and ,as a result, we decided to head towards our bed and breakfast. On the way back, we made occasionally stops in small shops. The stroll back to B&B Divina was less than ten minutes. While walking we felt all the pain from the countless cobble stone streets we had walked on earlier that day.
Later that night around, at 8 o’clock, we went out for dinner. All the places we had in mind were too far away. Instead we walked around until we found a suitable restaurant. Most of the places we passed were too expensive, so we kept going. Finally after about 15 minutes we came across a small restaurant. It was very nice, quiet, and clean. Although there was only one waiter, he managed to serve us in a reasonable time. We had a scrumptious two course dinner: pasta for the first course and grilled chicken for the next. Everyone was so full after dinner that we could barely walk back to B&B Divina. So now, we were ready for bed. We could not wait to go to sleep and rest up for our second day in Verona.
After classes on Thursday, March 3 we traveled to Verona. It would take one bus and two trains to get there from Sansepolcro; but we were up for the challenge. The travel went very well until we reached Bologna. We were aware that we had to switch trains, but had trouble finding the right one. We looked on the departure board and found the train and binario (track) number. However, while reading we overlooked one small, but vital detail. Our train to Verona was to arrive on binario 3, so we went there. After 20 minutes we realized that something must have gone wrong because the train never showed up and the listing then read Roma. After double checking the board for the binario number we noticed it said: Verona binario 3 (oviest). We had no idea what oviest meant and the Italian guide book was no help. I quickly called Bekah, our residential director, for help. She informed me that it meant “west” in Italian, and that we were at the wrong track. As a result, we missed our train. The next one was not for another hour. We were really bummed, but instead of moping around, we cheered up by having dinner in Bologna. Since the next train was due soon, we did not want to eat too far from the station. The map did not show any close restaurants, so we settled for McDonald’s which was across the street from the station. Everyone knows that I hate McDonalds; but let’s just say I took one for the team. I had my first cheeseburger in Italy, fries, and a coke; while the others had chicken nuggets. We sat chatting endlessly about our experience thus far and what we planned to do once in Verona. I planned on seeing the Giusti Garden and a castle. The others had similar suggestions and wanted to go to Juliet’s wall to write love letters.
Two hours passed rather quickly and we were on the train again; this time the correct one. We did not have assigned seats, as before. I was happy to stretch out in the seat diagonal from Megan and began my reading for literature. Surprisingly, the reading was interesting and helped time go by faster. Before I knew I realized it was 11:00 at night and we were in Verona. Given that we arrived in Verona later than expected, a lot of plans were delayed. We anticipated getting maps in the tourist office but it was closed. It was dark, cold and rainy outside. We had no clue where to begin; this scared me because we were guaranteed to get lost with no map. A mixture of thoughts was running through my mind, but I decided that if we stayed on the main road we would be safe. I hoped that we would run into the bed and breakfast along the way, seeing that it was located in the town center. We went off into the night wishing for a savior, but luck was not on our side. Instead we wandered around Verona becoming more and more lost. There were hardly any people on the streets, businesses were closed, and there were few cars about. We passed two prostitutes and homeless people along the way, which was awfully frightening. We continued to walk onward, hoping we would see a small café of some kind, where we could ask for directions. I prayed repeatedly for direction and safety for all of us. After dragging both our tired bodies and luggage for about 30 minutes in the rain, we came across a small bar. I thought to myself, that God works in mysterious ways and my prayers were finally answered. We dashed into the bar, dripping wet, to ask for directions. Of course, no one spoke English so we had to use the little Italian we knew to communicate. Somehow, through all the jumbled Italian, an old man by the name of Johnny understood us. He said that he could not properly direct us in Italian because of our language barrier. He then offered to drive us to the bed and breakfast personally. He told us that his car was tiny and that he could only drive us in pairs. I was hesitant and suspicious but after all it was our only option left. Again, I prayed for our safety and that Johnny was a polite man who would not take advantage of us. I kept wishing that this situation was only a nightmare that I would soon wake up from, but it was not. As we proceeded to Johnny’s car my stomach began to fill up with fear and it felt as if I needed to vomit.
We divided into two; the first duo was Shannon and me, while Jess and Megan stayed behind. They waited inside the bar, while Johnny shuttled us away. In less than five minutes we arrived on Via Marconi, where our bed and breakfast was located. We could not breathe easily just yet; we still had to wait for Jess and Megan. As soon he dropped us off, I phoned Jess to make sure everything was all right. She said they were fine and would meet us shortly. Soon after I hung up the phone, I saw the small car pull up with Jess and Megan inside. I was relieved; but we still had one more thing to do; find B&B Divina. Luckily, it was not far and we safely settled in. Our first night was a crazy one; I labeled it the worst day of my life. I was so ready to fall asleep and forgot everything that happened.
Friday was a new day; we all woke up feeling better and eager to see Verona. We ate a small breakfast at the bed and breakfast then were on our way. First we went to Castleveccchio. This castle was built by the Romans and now serves as an ancient museum for tourists. We were allowed to take pictures inside, which made it even better. The castle was filled with wonderful artwork inside and amazing views outside. We were able to go to the top and take incredible pictures of the city. From that point, I was able to see two of the famous bridges in Verona and its beautiful landscape. We looked around in the castle for a total of two hours and loved every minute of it.
After leaving the castle, it was lunch time. We found a place on the same street as Castlevecchio, which had delicious sandwiches. Everyone had the same lunch; a ham, cheese, lettuce, mayo and tomato sandwich with my favorite soda, coke. Once we finished eating, we headed off again. We ran into a small market in the town square and could not help but stop. Everyone knows I love to shop, so I was overly excited. I wanted to find a few things for my sister and myself. I ended up buying postcards, magnets, and an Italian license plate for my sister. Oddly we spent little time in the market; we then went in the direction of Juliet’s house, since everyone wanted to write letters. There we found a huge flock of people doing the same thing as we: writing letters. People all around us scribbled on anything they could find and stuck their notes to the famous wall. Quite the opposite, we took our time putting much thought into every line of our letters. Everyone knew that Shannon was most eager, due to the fact that she had a lingering boy problem that she wanted to get off her chest. As we finished our letters we divided a pack of gum to attach our notes to the wall. We went one by one placing our notes on the wall as we took pictures of one another. Before leaving, we all rubbed Juliet’s breast for good luck and initialed the wall as a reminder of the great times we’ve shared so far.
As we were leaving Juliet’s wall, we were lured into a candy store. We all craved sweets and went wild in the store as if we were five-year-olds. I ended up buying four euro-worth of candy and the others spent more than me. To our surprise the candy was not as good as it looked. It was hard and tasted like dirt. Although the candy was nasty, it was a fun experience. We sampled all the candy on the way to the famous Roman Amphitheatre. The arena was remarkable; it looked just like the pictures. We climbed to the top and were blown away by the marvelous city view. I was very proud of myself for climbing to the top, for this was the first thing I have climbed since my surgery. I was so pleased with my accomplishment that I called my mom to tell her. From the top we could see everything in the city, I took tons of pictures. We sat and chatted in the arena for a while until it started to rain. It turned out that what we thought was rain was actually hail. It lasted for about 30 minutes and ,as a result, we decided to head towards our bed and breakfast. On the way back, we made occasionally stops in small shops. The stroll back to B&B Divina was less than ten minutes. While walking we felt all the pain from the countless cobble stone streets we had walked on earlier that day.
Later that night around, at 8 o’clock, we went out for dinner. All the places we had in mind were too far away. Instead we walked around until we found a suitable restaurant. Most of the places we passed were too expensive, so we kept going. Finally after about 15 minutes we came across a small restaurant. It was very nice, quiet, and clean. Although there was only one waiter, he managed to serve us in a reasonable time. We had a scrumptious two course dinner: pasta for the first course and grilled chicken for the next. Everyone was so full after dinner that we could barely walk back to B&B Divina. So now, we were ready for bed. We could not wait to go to sleep and rest up for our second day in Verona.
Florence Pt. 2
On Sunday morning we woke up early for our second day in Florence. At eight o’clock we ate breakfast and headed for the bus. Being that it was Sunday, most of the stores along our street were closed so we had to walk farther to buy a bus ticket. The nine o’clock bus was running a little late so we caught a 9:16 one instead. Once we arrived at the station, the group divided into two groups; three in one and five in the other. My group consisted of Shannon, Jess, Megan, Lilly, and me. Our first stop was at the Uffizi Museum. I was map manager again and within ten minutes we arrived at the museum. The line was really long but we still wanted to go in so we waited. After forty-five minutes we went inside and the wait seemed to be worth it.
The Uffizi Museum was built in 1581 and located adjacent to the Medici Palace. Uffizi is an Italian word meaning office. The space was originally designed to hold offices and an area for the bureaucratic meetings. Today, the use of the space is quite different. The Uffizi holds many famous sculptures, paintings, and artworks in Florence. There were several Renaissance and Medieval artworks at the museum, that were discussed in class. I saw the painting of the Duke and Duchess of Montefeltro. It is one of the famous paintings of Piero della Francesca, an Italian Renaissance painter. He is also a native of Sansepolcro; interesting!
After about an hour and a half in the museum, some girls were ready to move on. Jess, Megan, and I wanted to go back to the market before we caught our train. In order to cover two different agendas, we split up. Shannon and Lilly were really interested in the artworks and decided to stay longer. They agreed to call us afterwards so we could all meet up at the train station. After the Uffizi, we searched for a snack before shopping. We were in luck because directly outside the museum we found an inexpensive snack bar. I was craving chocolate so I ordered a chocolate croissant and my favorite drink, coke. We quickly ate our snacks on the way to the market. We found a reasonable market, just past the Duomo. It happened to be the same market we were at on Saturday. All of a sudden many of the vendors remembered us and tried to get our attention. One man from a wallet stand, remembered me in particular because I brought a wallet on Saturday. This time I wanted to buy my mother a leather wallet. I was originally supposed to buy her leather gloves, but they were too expensive. The wallet was originally 30 euro, but the man kindly reduced the price to 20 euro since I gave him business the day before. I was really excited to check my mom off my list for souvenirs, but I was still in search of a gift for my grandfather. As we passed a tie stand, I saw a tie that would go perfectly with one of my grandfather’s church suits. It was stripped silver and blue, and had the Florence symbol on it. The ties were three euro apiece, but I thought I could bargain two for five. So I used my skills to buy two. It actually worked and I was impressed. Jess and Megan were too and said they should learn from me. I guess all my days in thrift shops with my mom finally paid off, because I used all the skills she taught me. Jess and I both brought scarves for ourselves. I bought a beautiful purple, blue and gold one, Megan has one identical to it. Jess brought a pretty black and gold one. After spending all our money in the market, we headed towards the train station to meet the other girls. We navigated our way back within ten minutes. Just as we were walking into the train station, we were lured in by another vendor. It was a lady who hand-stitched sayings on potholders. I thought it would be nice to buy one for my family, therefore I brought one that read “Patterson’s”, Jess bought two: one for her parents and the other for her and her boyfriend. Megan brought a chef’s hat for her mother that was very cool. After that we went into the station to look for a quick sandwich to eat on the train ride. Jess and Megan wanted to eat McDonald’s, but I did not. I hate McDonald’s, but I was going to walk with them anyway. Once we were in McDonald’s the girls decided the meals were too expensive so we did not buy anything. There were other restaurants around that we wandered into. None of the food looked satisfying, so we were out of luck. We left, only to find ourselves in the middle of a strike of some sort.
There were people shouting and screaming in Italian while carrying flags through the station. Many of them were men being followed by the police. Jess, Megan, and I were all scared and did not know what to do. We looked on in fear as the mob went toward the streets, we felt relieved but then thought about the other girls. I quickly called Shannon but I did not get an answer. I tried Lilly too, she did not answer either. I was hoping that the strike would not turn violent, but all of sudden there was a cloud of orange smoke throughout the whole station. It was difficult to see through the smog, but I noticed Shannon walking towards us with a confused look on her face. Behind Shannon, Lilly and Kelsey tagged along. The three girls were just as confused as we were, but we had other things to handle. First we went to the luggage section, where we had all locked our belongings earlier that day. We retrieved our belongings and scurried to the nearest list of train arrival and departures. It was confusing, but we managed to find our 2:15 train back to Arezzo. We validated our tickets and boarded the train. Luckily, it was not crowded; everyone found seats next to each other. Once settled we all put on our IPods and waited until our next stop in Arezzo.
It was a long wait until we finally reached Arezzo, but we made it. We had just enough time to take a restroom break and get to the bus stop. After looking at every sign, we found our correct bus stop. The ride was longer than usual, being that it was a Sunday, but calming. We reached the Palazzo after about an hour and half. We were exhausted but glad that we were back at “home”.
The following weekend, the group took a day trip to Siena. Siena’s origin was the myth of Senius and Acius, sons of Remus (hence the various she-wolves around the city), and it was founded by the Etruscans. Siena is a hilly, Tuscan city famous for the she-wolf emblem, cuisine, museums, and palio. Palio di Siena is a horse race that happens twice a year during the summer. It is held in the Piazza del Campo, the town center, where 10 riders race barebacked upon horses dressed in colors representing different parts of the city. It is a big event that attracts tons of people. Unfortunately, we were not visiting during palio season, but there was still a lot to see. I was able to see two museums; the Duomo Museum and the Museo Civico located in the Palazzo Pubblico Torre del Mangia. The palazzo was originally the headquarters of Siena’s rulers and ruling council, but today the upper floor is occupied by the Museo Civico. Both sites had wonderful medieval artwork and detail, but what caught my attention was all the civic pride within the city. The Campo was a focus of city life, and pride was shown by flags, frescos, and mosaics. After seeing the museums, we did a little shopping and finished the day by eating gelato. Afterwards, we slowly made our way back to the station to wait for our bus. To get back to Sansepolcro, we had to take two buses, the first one of which switched off in Arezzo. The trip was just what everyone needed to re-energize for the upcoming week. Overall, Siena was similar to Florence but differed in many ways. Although both are historic cities of art, the feel of the cities are opposite. It was noted in the Rough Guide, that Florence and Siena, are rival cities. Florence is famous for its Renaissance era; while Siena has a Gothic style that blows tourists away. They both have Duomos, famous museums, and piazzas; but Florence and Siena are two cities one must see. Siena seemed calmer and easier to get around because all the buildings radiated from the Piazza del Campo. Florence is more of a tourist and shopping site than Siena. I learned a lot from both cities and would not mind revisiting either one; maybe next time I can take my family!
The Uffizi Museum was built in 1581 and located adjacent to the Medici Palace. Uffizi is an Italian word meaning office. The space was originally designed to hold offices and an area for the bureaucratic meetings. Today, the use of the space is quite different. The Uffizi holds many famous sculptures, paintings, and artworks in Florence. There were several Renaissance and Medieval artworks at the museum, that were discussed in class. I saw the painting of the Duke and Duchess of Montefeltro. It is one of the famous paintings of Piero della Francesca, an Italian Renaissance painter. He is also a native of Sansepolcro; interesting!
After about an hour and a half in the museum, some girls were ready to move on. Jess, Megan, and I wanted to go back to the market before we caught our train. In order to cover two different agendas, we split up. Shannon and Lilly were really interested in the artworks and decided to stay longer. They agreed to call us afterwards so we could all meet up at the train station. After the Uffizi, we searched for a snack before shopping. We were in luck because directly outside the museum we found an inexpensive snack bar. I was craving chocolate so I ordered a chocolate croissant and my favorite drink, coke. We quickly ate our snacks on the way to the market. We found a reasonable market, just past the Duomo. It happened to be the same market we were at on Saturday. All of a sudden many of the vendors remembered us and tried to get our attention. One man from a wallet stand, remembered me in particular because I brought a wallet on Saturday. This time I wanted to buy my mother a leather wallet. I was originally supposed to buy her leather gloves, but they were too expensive. The wallet was originally 30 euro, but the man kindly reduced the price to 20 euro since I gave him business the day before. I was really excited to check my mom off my list for souvenirs, but I was still in search of a gift for my grandfather. As we passed a tie stand, I saw a tie that would go perfectly with one of my grandfather’s church suits. It was stripped silver and blue, and had the Florence symbol on it. The ties were three euro apiece, but I thought I could bargain two for five. So I used my skills to buy two. It actually worked and I was impressed. Jess and Megan were too and said they should learn from me. I guess all my days in thrift shops with my mom finally paid off, because I used all the skills she taught me. Jess and I both brought scarves for ourselves. I bought a beautiful purple, blue and gold one, Megan has one identical to it. Jess brought a pretty black and gold one. After spending all our money in the market, we headed towards the train station to meet the other girls. We navigated our way back within ten minutes. Just as we were walking into the train station, we were lured in by another vendor. It was a lady who hand-stitched sayings on potholders. I thought it would be nice to buy one for my family, therefore I brought one that read “Patterson’s”, Jess bought two: one for her parents and the other for her and her boyfriend. Megan brought a chef’s hat for her mother that was very cool. After that we went into the station to look for a quick sandwich to eat on the train ride. Jess and Megan wanted to eat McDonald’s, but I did not. I hate McDonald’s, but I was going to walk with them anyway. Once we were in McDonald’s the girls decided the meals were too expensive so we did not buy anything. There were other restaurants around that we wandered into. None of the food looked satisfying, so we were out of luck. We left, only to find ourselves in the middle of a strike of some sort.
There were people shouting and screaming in Italian while carrying flags through the station. Many of them were men being followed by the police. Jess, Megan, and I were all scared and did not know what to do. We looked on in fear as the mob went toward the streets, we felt relieved but then thought about the other girls. I quickly called Shannon but I did not get an answer. I tried Lilly too, she did not answer either. I was hoping that the strike would not turn violent, but all of sudden there was a cloud of orange smoke throughout the whole station. It was difficult to see through the smog, but I noticed Shannon walking towards us with a confused look on her face. Behind Shannon, Lilly and Kelsey tagged along. The three girls were just as confused as we were, but we had other things to handle. First we went to the luggage section, where we had all locked our belongings earlier that day. We retrieved our belongings and scurried to the nearest list of train arrival and departures. It was confusing, but we managed to find our 2:15 train back to Arezzo. We validated our tickets and boarded the train. Luckily, it was not crowded; everyone found seats next to each other. Once settled we all put on our IPods and waited until our next stop in Arezzo.
It was a long wait until we finally reached Arezzo, but we made it. We had just enough time to take a restroom break and get to the bus stop. After looking at every sign, we found our correct bus stop. The ride was longer than usual, being that it was a Sunday, but calming. We reached the Palazzo after about an hour and half. We were exhausted but glad that we were back at “home”.
The following weekend, the group took a day trip to Siena. Siena’s origin was the myth of Senius and Acius, sons of Remus (hence the various she-wolves around the city), and it was founded by the Etruscans. Siena is a hilly, Tuscan city famous for the she-wolf emblem, cuisine, museums, and palio. Palio di Siena is a horse race that happens twice a year during the summer. It is held in the Piazza del Campo, the town center, where 10 riders race barebacked upon horses dressed in colors representing different parts of the city. It is a big event that attracts tons of people. Unfortunately, we were not visiting during palio season, but there was still a lot to see. I was able to see two museums; the Duomo Museum and the Museo Civico located in the Palazzo Pubblico Torre del Mangia. The palazzo was originally the headquarters of Siena’s rulers and ruling council, but today the upper floor is occupied by the Museo Civico. Both sites had wonderful medieval artwork and detail, but what caught my attention was all the civic pride within the city. The Campo was a focus of city life, and pride was shown by flags, frescos, and mosaics. After seeing the museums, we did a little shopping and finished the day by eating gelato. Afterwards, we slowly made our way back to the station to wait for our bus. To get back to Sansepolcro, we had to take two buses, the first one of which switched off in Arezzo. The trip was just what everyone needed to re-energize for the upcoming week. Overall, Siena was similar to Florence but differed in many ways. Although both are historic cities of art, the feel of the cities are opposite. It was noted in the Rough Guide, that Florence and Siena, are rival cities. Florence is famous for its Renaissance era; while Siena has a Gothic style that blows tourists away. They both have Duomos, famous museums, and piazzas; but Florence and Siena are two cities one must see. Siena seemed calmer and easier to get around because all the buildings radiated from the Piazza del Campo. Florence is more of a tourist and shopping site than Siena. I learned a lot from both cities and would not mind revisiting either one; maybe next time I can take my family!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Taking Florence- Part 1
Florence is the capital of Tuscany and the leading city of art in Italy, if not the world. Florence preserves some of the world’s most famous artworks and Renaissance architecture. Famous architecture of Florence can be seen throughout the city and famous artworks can be discovered in museums, such as the Uffizi or the Pitti Palace. There have been controversial debates that Florence is the last Renaissance city in Italy, but by far it is one of the most popular. Florence is home to many famous shops, markets, and tons of tourists. When the weekend came, I looked forward to seeing all the glory of Florence once and for all.
On Friday, February 18th the group went on a weekend trip to Florence. We left the Palazzo heading to the bus station at around 1:35 p.m. in order to catch our 1:45 p.m. bus to Arezzo. The bus ride was one hour long and seemed better than usual. I did not get nauseous; thanks to my sea-sickness bracelet I brought from the farmacia in Sansepolcro. I prepared, therefore, nothing could spoil my trip. Once in Arezzo, we took a train that would transport us to Florence. The train station was very crowded, since it was Friday and people were trying to get home for the weekend. Due to the overcrowding, directions at the train station were confusing. However, Dr. Webb was there to assist us in locating our train. We boarded it, and comfortably situated ourselves for the one hour ride to Florence. It was pleasant; I looked out the window and listened to my iPod the entire time. As we traveled quickly down the tracks, I noticed all the appealing landscapes and graffiti. We passed mountains, rivers, trees, buildings and before I knew it; we were in Florence. There, Dr. Webb taught us how to read the arrival and departure times for trains correctly, and then we were on our way.
With John Rose serving as our tour guide, the group strolled along the cobblestone roads through the city in search of our hotel. Along the way we saw many beautiful buildings, statues and local markets. Although it was very tempting to stop to take pictures, shop, and eat; we did not and instead pushed onward. John Rose put me in charge of the map, which was a good lesson to learn for our future excursions. After a wrong turn, tons of streets signs, and motor bikes; we found our way to our hotel. The name was Convento della Calza. Everyone was so relieved to have finally reached our destination. We quickly received our keys, divided into our assigned rooms, and rested for a while. Once we put our bags down and got situated, some of the girls separated and walked around the town. Megan, Lilly, Shannon, Kelsey, and I explored the town in the hunt for gelato. We walked around for about thirty minutes then decided to head back to the hotel in time for dinner. At 8:00 p.m., we were all welcomed to dinner at the hotel. Not only was it delicious and free, but it was convenient as well. We had pasta for our first course, chicken and cauliflower for the second, and a chocolate treat for dessert. I was full after dinner and could not think of anything but sleeping. The night ended on a good note and we rested up for our long Saturday adventure in Florence.
The next morning, we all woke up at eight in the morning to have breakfast before leaving. The breakfast was small, just as all Italian breakfasts, but it was just enough to fuel us for the day. We all went to buy bus tickets after breakfast, then patiently waited for the bus to arrive. The bus carried us to the train station in Santa Maria Novella. We thought it would be a great place to start and work our way southward as the day progressed. With me placed as map manager, we headed to our first destination. This was the Accademia Museum, but somehow we arrived at the gallery instead. We peeked in and figured out it was the wrong place, so we went a few doors down only to figure out that we had passed it in the beginning. Well, after that little hiccup, we entered the Accademia Museo. It was smaller than expected, but still impressive. The big highlight of this museum was the sculpture of David. David was enormous and way bigger than I imagined. The sculpture actually started off as an unused slab of marble and was turned into a masterpiece by Michelangelo. This statue holds a significant meaning; he represents David of “David and Goliath” from the Bible. The Biblical story explains why David is holding a sling and a rock. The sling and rock were two tools that David used in his battle against Goliath. The sculpture was symbolic and moving to those viewing it. After looking at all the pieces in the Accademia Museo, we went to a shop across the street and bought postcards. Mine were funny postcards of David to send to my friends and of Florence for my family. Next, we set off wandering around in a nearby market, buying scarves and other items that could serve as souvenirs. I ended up buying three scarves, two wallets, magnets, and plenty of souvenirs. Once we finished we the market, we arranged to meet up with the other half of the girls for lunch.
At about 2:00 p.m. we all met up with no idea where to eat. Most of the girls suggested a recommended sandwich shop, but it was closed when we arrived so we had to find a restaurant. Just one street away from the sandwich shop, we came across one called I Ghibellini. It was able to seat all eight girls so we decided to eat lunch there. My meal was amazing; I ordered penne pasta with hot pepper and a side of French fries. I was stuffed after lunch, but I needed the food to help energize my body for the remainder of the day. We had a very nice waiter and he actually gave the group a discount, so everyone ended up paying ten dollars apiece. After lunch all the girls, excluding Kelsey and me, went to climb to the top of the Duomo. Both Kelsey and I wanted to go with the group and see the amazing view, but could not due to health issues. Kelsey has asthma and I recently had spinal surgery, which prohibits me from participating in activities such as that. I was really sad, but decided to go shopping to feel better. It did not last long, so Kelsey and I took a look inside both the Duomo and the Baptistery. After looking around in the Duomo, we met up with the remainder of the girls and went on a hunt for gelato. Not too far from the Duomo, we found a cute little gelato shop. The prices seemed affordable so everyone brought two scoops of their favorite flavors. I had chocolate chip and coffee. Once we finished, the group divided yet again. Some girls wanted to go shopping while others wanted to view more museums. I went with the first group. We searched around for a reasonably priced market and began bargaining. It was fun to bargain with the vendors and then walk away when the prices were too high. All the markets had the same things, so it was easy compare prices and buy sensibly. We shopped in the market into nightfall, but our day was far from over.
We agreed that it would be nice for everyone to meet up again for dinner, but this time we would try a location closer to the hotel. We intended to have dinner at 8:00 p.m., therefore around 6:45 p.m., my group decided to head back across the Ponte Vecchio to get to the hotel. We brought bus tickets at the station, but it was just our luck that we got on the wrong one. Instead of boarding the bus going south towards Via Porta Roma, we got on one that went in north. We rode for about five minutes, and then as the bus grew bare we noticed we were going the wrong way. All of a sudden, we hopped off and scurried into a farmacia. We asked where we were and the clerk laughed. He informed us that we were far away from where we needed to be and must take two buses to get to the Convento de Calza. We were nervous, mad, and scared all at the same time. No one knew what to do, so we just sat at the stop asking every bus driver were they heading to Via Porta Roma but we received the same response every time: NO. Shannon suggested that we take a taxi, but the only problem was how we would flag it down. Then suddenly we looked up at the red light a saw an empty taxi, so we made a run for it. The driver agreed to take us to the hotel and we hopped in. We safely arrived at the hotel in about 15 minutes. We were hungry and tired, but most importantly, we were thankful that we arrived safely.
On Friday, February 18th the group went on a weekend trip to Florence. We left the Palazzo heading to the bus station at around 1:35 p.m. in order to catch our 1:45 p.m. bus to Arezzo. The bus ride was one hour long and seemed better than usual. I did not get nauseous; thanks to my sea-sickness bracelet I brought from the farmacia in Sansepolcro. I prepared, therefore, nothing could spoil my trip. Once in Arezzo, we took a train that would transport us to Florence. The train station was very crowded, since it was Friday and people were trying to get home for the weekend. Due to the overcrowding, directions at the train station were confusing. However, Dr. Webb was there to assist us in locating our train. We boarded it, and comfortably situated ourselves for the one hour ride to Florence. It was pleasant; I looked out the window and listened to my iPod the entire time. As we traveled quickly down the tracks, I noticed all the appealing landscapes and graffiti. We passed mountains, rivers, trees, buildings and before I knew it; we were in Florence. There, Dr. Webb taught us how to read the arrival and departure times for trains correctly, and then we were on our way.
With John Rose serving as our tour guide, the group strolled along the cobblestone roads through the city in search of our hotel. Along the way we saw many beautiful buildings, statues and local markets. Although it was very tempting to stop to take pictures, shop, and eat; we did not and instead pushed onward. John Rose put me in charge of the map, which was a good lesson to learn for our future excursions. After a wrong turn, tons of streets signs, and motor bikes; we found our way to our hotel. The name was Convento della Calza. Everyone was so relieved to have finally reached our destination. We quickly received our keys, divided into our assigned rooms, and rested for a while. Once we put our bags down and got situated, some of the girls separated and walked around the town. Megan, Lilly, Shannon, Kelsey, and I explored the town in the hunt for gelato. We walked around for about thirty minutes then decided to head back to the hotel in time for dinner. At 8:00 p.m., we were all welcomed to dinner at the hotel. Not only was it delicious and free, but it was convenient as well. We had pasta for our first course, chicken and cauliflower for the second, and a chocolate treat for dessert. I was full after dinner and could not think of anything but sleeping. The night ended on a good note and we rested up for our long Saturday adventure in Florence.
The next morning, we all woke up at eight in the morning to have breakfast before leaving. The breakfast was small, just as all Italian breakfasts, but it was just enough to fuel us for the day. We all went to buy bus tickets after breakfast, then patiently waited for the bus to arrive. The bus carried us to the train station in Santa Maria Novella. We thought it would be a great place to start and work our way southward as the day progressed. With me placed as map manager, we headed to our first destination. This was the Accademia Museum, but somehow we arrived at the gallery instead. We peeked in and figured out it was the wrong place, so we went a few doors down only to figure out that we had passed it in the beginning. Well, after that little hiccup, we entered the Accademia Museo. It was smaller than expected, but still impressive. The big highlight of this museum was the sculpture of David. David was enormous and way bigger than I imagined. The sculpture actually started off as an unused slab of marble and was turned into a masterpiece by Michelangelo. This statue holds a significant meaning; he represents David of “David and Goliath” from the Bible. The Biblical story explains why David is holding a sling and a rock. The sling and rock were two tools that David used in his battle against Goliath. The sculpture was symbolic and moving to those viewing it. After looking at all the pieces in the Accademia Museo, we went to a shop across the street and bought postcards. Mine were funny postcards of David to send to my friends and of Florence for my family. Next, we set off wandering around in a nearby market, buying scarves and other items that could serve as souvenirs. I ended up buying three scarves, two wallets, magnets, and plenty of souvenirs. Once we finished we the market, we arranged to meet up with the other half of the girls for lunch.
At about 2:00 p.m. we all met up with no idea where to eat. Most of the girls suggested a recommended sandwich shop, but it was closed when we arrived so we had to find a restaurant. Just one street away from the sandwich shop, we came across one called I Ghibellini. It was able to seat all eight girls so we decided to eat lunch there. My meal was amazing; I ordered penne pasta with hot pepper and a side of French fries. I was stuffed after lunch, but I needed the food to help energize my body for the remainder of the day. We had a very nice waiter and he actually gave the group a discount, so everyone ended up paying ten dollars apiece. After lunch all the girls, excluding Kelsey and me, went to climb to the top of the Duomo. Both Kelsey and I wanted to go with the group and see the amazing view, but could not due to health issues. Kelsey has asthma and I recently had spinal surgery, which prohibits me from participating in activities such as that. I was really sad, but decided to go shopping to feel better. It did not last long, so Kelsey and I took a look inside both the Duomo and the Baptistery. After looking around in the Duomo, we met up with the remainder of the girls and went on a hunt for gelato. Not too far from the Duomo, we found a cute little gelato shop. The prices seemed affordable so everyone brought two scoops of their favorite flavors. I had chocolate chip and coffee. Once we finished, the group divided yet again. Some girls wanted to go shopping while others wanted to view more museums. I went with the first group. We searched around for a reasonably priced market and began bargaining. It was fun to bargain with the vendors and then walk away when the prices were too high. All the markets had the same things, so it was easy compare prices and buy sensibly. We shopped in the market into nightfall, but our day was far from over.
We agreed that it would be nice for everyone to meet up again for dinner, but this time we would try a location closer to the hotel. We intended to have dinner at 8:00 p.m., therefore around 6:45 p.m., my group decided to head back across the Ponte Vecchio to get to the hotel. We brought bus tickets at the station, but it was just our luck that we got on the wrong one. Instead of boarding the bus going south towards Via Porta Roma, we got on one that went in north. We rode for about five minutes, and then as the bus grew bare we noticed we were going the wrong way. All of a sudden, we hopped off and scurried into a farmacia. We asked where we were and the clerk laughed. He informed us that we were far away from where we needed to be and must take two buses to get to the Convento de Calza. We were nervous, mad, and scared all at the same time. No one knew what to do, so we just sat at the stop asking every bus driver were they heading to Via Porta Roma but we received the same response every time: NO. Shannon suggested that we take a taxi, but the only problem was how we would flag it down. Then suddenly we looked up at the red light a saw an empty taxi, so we made a run for it. The driver agreed to take us to the hotel and we hopped in. We safely arrived at the hotel in about 15 minutes. We were hungry and tired, but most importantly, we were thankful that we arrived safely.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Light at the End of the Tunnel
My first weekend in Sansepolcro turned out to be better than the week had been. Friday was an exciting day for me, because I had a lighter class load. I only had morning classes and then lunch. Lunch was delicious, as always. We had more pasta and vegetables. I love the pasta here, and can never get tired of it. Margarita and Alessandra are amazing cooks and I am very grateful to have them as our cooks here at the Palazzo. After lunch the girls and I had the rest of the day to ourselves. Most of the girls just relaxed until later that evening. We planned to explore the streets later that night and shop. We headed out around 6 p.m. and looked in almost all of the small shops along the main street. Our first stop was into a shoe store, since everyone was looking for boots of some sort for the surprise trip on Sunday. Luckily, I had brought rain boots in the States so I did not have to buy new ones. All the girls ended up buying the exact same boots, in black and white. I really did not find anything I liked in the stores and I quickly noticed that my style was so different from all the girls here. I like things with more color and elaborate, while the other girls are classy and simple. Due to our opposing styles, it was hard to go in stores that included both styles, but we managed.
All the girls, except for me, brought boots for our surprise trip on Sunday. Everyone was excited to guess what we would actually be doing for this surprise. We learned about the Italian tradition of carnevale in Italy Today. Carnevale is a celebration that happens 40 days before Lent, in which people of all ages dress up and anything goes. Carnevale is celebrated all over Italy, but the biggest one is in Venice. Carne means meat and levare means to stop. At carnevale people usually were masks to hide their identity and represent everyone as equals. I thought this was interesting and that it was similar to the holiday of Halloween in the United States. I was hoping that this would be our surprise for Sunday, because this is a special celebration that does not happen often. It would be a once in a lifetime experience that everyone could share. The weekend was more of a reenergizing one than partying one for me. Much of my Saturday was spent doing homework and eating. I was very tired from the first week of transition and wanted to rest up for the big surprise.
On Sunday morning, we had to wake up extra early to catch a bus to our surprise location. On the way there, Shannon was the first to notice a road sign telling where we were heading, so at the halfway stop Dr. Webb decided to reveal the surprise. She told us that we were going to Venice for carnevale. After finding this out, I grew impatient of what awaited us in Venice. It was a coincidence that we were going to Venice, because the night before my brother and I were talking of how much water surrounds Venice. Generally speaking, the trip took about four hours and another thirty minutes by boat to reach Venice. I was amazed by all the people and by how many people were actually dressed to celebrate carnevale. I assumed that it would be mostly children and teenagers, but I was proven wrong. There were adults and parents dressed in customs ranging from wasp to kings and queens. I took countless pictures of all the various customs and beautiful buildings that made up the city of Venice. I saw gondola boats, masks, and graffiti. All aspects of the Venice was breathe taking, it seemed as if I was inside a book. I felt privileged to be able to see all the wonderful views and components of the carnevale. The whole experience seemed so surreal and I was wondering how I would explain everything to my family (they probably would not believe it). For lunch in Venice, Bekah, my roommates and I went to a small restaurant on a back street. I ordered lasagna and had gelato for dessert. This was my first time eating gelato and I must say it was yummy; just thinking of it now is makes my mouth water. I tried a cookie flavor and chocolate chip. Since it was so cold outside, we looked for a nice warm place to enjoy our sweet treat. We ended up finding a place right along the water. As we sat, we judged whose flavors were better. Of course, I thought mine was the best. The funniest thing happened to me while I was trying to find a seat along the banister was when a strange man kicked me up. I thought it was very nice of him, but in the back of my head I thought he may have been trying to pick-pocket me. At first I was scared and panicked but when I realized what he doing I calmed down. Dr. Webb warned us about situations as that, so I quickly checked my pockets and found they were safe. Afterwards, he took my pictures and I scurried off into the jumbled crowd. Overall, my day in Venice was great until I got seasick on the ride back home. I felt awful, until we arrived at a restaurant and had dinner. I ate cheese pizza and had a sprite to settle my stomach. To my surprise it helped and I felt recovered the next morning.
The second week was a long one for me. I was given a lot work in such little time, but my theory was just taking it one day at a time. This week all the girls came up with nicknames for each other, and mine was hilarious. The girls came up with the name KFC; Kim the Funny Comedian. All the girls decided that I am the funniest, which is the same response I get back home. In some ways the girls here remind me of my friends at home, but truly they could never compare. On Friday, it snowed continuously all day. It was cold, but my roomies and I stilled went to play in the snow. We threw snowballs at one another on the way to the Pam. I was overjoyed to find fingernail polish remover at the Pam and buy earrings at one of the shops. After all the snow cleared on Saturday, the group took a trip to Arezzo. Arezzo was not too far from Sansepolcro, but I found the trip refreshing. Once we arrived in Arezzo, Bekah showed us around the train and bus station. Our mission was to be able to get ourselves back to the Palazzo alone. Afterwards, we broke into two groups and strolled around the city. My roommates and I made up one group, and the remaining girls were the second group. My roommates and I ended up getting lost on our way back to the bus station, but we found our way back home. We felt very accomplished after making it back to the Palazzo on our own safely. As soon as we got to the Palazzo we took a long nap until later that evening. We planned to go out to the club later on so we wanted to be well-rested. After our rejuvenating nap, we worked on homework and prepared for the club.
I was actually nervous to go out to the club. I would rather have stayed in the Palazzo doing homework or talking with my family but I did not want to miss anything; so I went. All the girls went out to a place called the K Café and had a couple of drinks with intentions of meeting cute Italian boys. Walking in was very intimidating because everyone was staring at us. It seemed that right away that all the Italians could sense that we were American. After about fifteen minutes the mood began to lighten up. A group of Italian boys made their way over to us and began to chat about our stay here. It was very thrilling to talk with them; the only problem was that we could hardly understand them. There was only one guy that spoke English very well and he served as our personal translator for the night. He followed us all night from the K Café into a local bar. At the bar, the girls had more drinks and talked to the Italian boys. I felt sort of out of place since it was my first time in a bar and because I was not getting as much attention as the other girls. Time seemed to be moving very slow but after about thirty minutes I decided to leave. I was extremely tired and wreaked of smoke. I was escorted back to the Palazzo by Lilly because it was dark and random men on the streets. I made it back safely, showered, and went to bed. The night had been an unforgettable one and the first of many.
My first weekend in Sansepolcro turned out to be better than the week had been. Friday was an exciting day for me, because I had a lighter class load. I only had morning classes and then lunch. Lunch was delicious, as always. We had more pasta and vegetables. I love the pasta here, and can never get tired of it. Margarita and Alessandra are amazing cooks and I am very grateful to have them as our cooks here at the Palazzo. After lunch the girls and I had the rest of the day to ourselves. Most of the girls just relaxed until later that evening. We planned to explore the streets later that night and shop. We headed out around 6 p.m. and looked in almost all of the small shops along the main street. Our first stop was into a shoe store, since everyone was looking for boots of some sort for the surprise trip on Sunday. Luckily, I had brought rain boots in the States so I did not have to buy new ones. All the girls ended up buying the exact same boots, in black and white. I really did not find anything I liked in the stores and I quickly noticed that my style was so different from all the girls here. I like things with more color and elaborate, while the other girls are classy and simple. Due to our opposing styles, it was hard to go in stores that included both styles, but we managed.
All the girls, except for me, brought boots for our surprise trip on Sunday. Everyone was excited to guess what we would actually be doing for this surprise. We learned about the Italian tradition of carnevale in Italy Today. Carnevale is a celebration that happens 40 days before Lent, in which people of all ages dress up and anything goes. Carnevale is celebrated all over Italy, but the biggest one is in Venice. Carne means meat and levare means to stop. At carnevale people usually were masks to hide their identity and represent everyone as equals. I thought this was interesting and that it was similar to the holiday of Halloween in the United States. I was hoping that this would be our surprise for Sunday, because this is a special celebration that does not happen often. It would be a once in a lifetime experience that everyone could share. The weekend was more of a reenergizing one than partying one for me. Much of my Saturday was spent doing homework and eating. I was very tired from the first week of transition and wanted to rest up for the big surprise.
On Sunday morning, we had to wake up extra early to catch a bus to our surprise location. On the way there, Shannon was the first to notice a road sign telling where we were heading, so at the halfway stop Dr. Webb decided to reveal the surprise. She told us that we were going to Venice for carnevale. After finding this out, I grew impatient of what awaited us in Venice. It was a coincidence that we were going to Venice, because the night before my brother and I were talking of how much water surrounds Venice. Generally speaking, the trip took about four hours and another thirty minutes by boat to reach Venice. I was amazed by all the people and by how many people were actually dressed to celebrate carnevale. I assumed that it would be mostly children and teenagers, but I was proven wrong. There were adults and parents dressed in customs ranging from wasp to kings and queens. I took countless pictures of all the various customs and beautiful buildings that made up the city of Venice. I saw gondola boats, masks, and graffiti. All aspects of the Venice was breathe taking, it seemed as if I was inside a book. I felt privileged to be able to see all the wonderful views and components of the carnevale. The whole experience seemed so surreal and I was wondering how I would explain everything to my family (they probably would not believe it). For lunch in Venice, Bekah, my roommates and I went to a small restaurant on a back street. I ordered lasagna and had gelato for dessert. This was my first time eating gelato and I must say it was yummy; just thinking of it now is makes my mouth water. I tried a cookie flavor and chocolate chip. Since it was so cold outside, we looked for a nice warm place to enjoy our sweet treat. We ended up finding a place right along the water. As we sat, we judged whose flavors were better. Of course, I thought mine was the best. The funniest thing happened to me while I was trying to find a seat along the banister was when a strange man kicked me up. I thought it was very nice of him, but in the back of my head I thought he may have been trying to pick-pocket me. At first I was scared and panicked but when I realized what he doing I calmed down. Dr. Webb warned us about situations as that, so I quickly checked my pockets and found they were safe. Afterwards, he took my pictures and I scurried off into the jumbled crowd. Overall, my day in Venice was great until I got seasick on the ride back home. I felt awful, until we arrived at a restaurant and had dinner. I ate cheese pizza and had a sprite to settle my stomach. To my surprise it helped and I felt recovered the next morning.
The second week was a long one for me. I was given a lot work in such little time, but my theory was just taking it one day at a time. This week all the girls came up with nicknames for each other, and mine was hilarious. The girls came up with the name KFC; Kim the Funny Comedian. All the girls decided that I am the funniest, which is the same response I get back home. In some ways the girls here remind me of my friends at home, but truly they could never compare. On Friday, it snowed continuously all day. It was cold, but my roomies and I stilled went to play in the snow. We threw snowballs at one another on the way to the Pam. I was overjoyed to find fingernail polish remover at the Pam and buy earrings at one of the shops. After all the snow cleared on Saturday, the group took a trip to Arezzo. Arezzo was not too far from Sansepolcro, but I found the trip refreshing. Once we arrived in Arezzo, Bekah showed us around the train and bus station. Our mission was to be able to get ourselves back to the Palazzo alone. Afterwards, we broke into two groups and strolled around the city. My roommates and I made up one group, and the remaining girls were the second group. My roommates and I ended up getting lost on our way back to the bus station, but we found our way back home. We felt very accomplished after making it back to the Palazzo on our own safely. As soon as we got to the Palazzo we took a long nap until later that evening. We planned to go out to the club later on so we wanted to be well-rested. After our rejuvenating nap, we worked on homework and prepared for the club.
I was actually nervous to go out to the club. I would rather have stayed in the Palazzo doing homework or talking with my family but I did not want to miss anything; so I went. All the girls went out to a place called the K Café and had a couple of drinks with intentions of meeting cute Italian boys. Walking in was very intimidating because everyone was staring at us. It seemed that right away that all the Italians could sense that we were American. After about fifteen minutes the mood began to lighten up. A group of Italian boys made their way over to us and began to chat about our stay here. It was very thrilling to talk with them; the only problem was that we could hardly understand them. There was only one guy that spoke English very well and he served as our personal translator for the night. He followed us all night from the K Café into a local bar. At the bar, the girls had more drinks and talked to the Italian boys. I felt sort of out of place since it was my first time in a bar and because I was not getting as much attention as the other girls. Time seemed to be moving very slow but after about thirty minutes I decided to leave. I was extremely tired and wreaked of smoke. I was escorted back to the Palazzo by Lilly because it was dark and random men on the streets. I made it back safely, showered, and went to bed. The night had been an unforgettable one and the first of many.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
New Beginnings
As Sunday, January 31st 2010 grew closer and closer my feelings became very mixed. I was excited, scared, sad, and happy all at the same time. I knew I would miss my family and close friends but not the extent. My family and I never traveled far, so I found packing to be very difficult. For a whole week, I packed, unpacked and re-packed again. As with my clothing and other personal belongings, my emotions constantly changed. One minute I was ready to leave, then the next I wanted to spend another month at home with my family. During my last weekend at home the weather was unpredictable. The weather changed drastically; snowing on Friday, January 29th. I hoped that our group departure flight would not be cancelled due to the weather, but it was. The streets were covered in snow and it took a day for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to clear the streets. Due to this setback our flight was rescheduled to Monday, February 1st. Unbelievable!
On Monday, I woke up very early with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I was trying to face the fact that this was the last day I would see my family for three months. I quickly checked over my bags to make sure there was not anything important I was missing. I got dressed and ate a big breakfast with my family and awaited the arrival of my older sister, niece, and nephew. My family (which includes my mother, younger brother, older sister and her children) all planned to drive to the airport together. Since there was a lot of snow remaining on the ground we left home earlier than usual. At approximately 8:50 a.m. we left my house and headed to the airport. We arrived at the airport at about 9:45 a.m. Everyone in my family was amazed and stunned at the airport. My family had never been inside an airport before, so we were guaranteed to get lost. Luckily, as we walked inside I noticed Kevin Morrison on the left and received instructions from him. With all the chaos in my mind, I managed to get checked in and exchanged a few words for the last time with family. After check-in, we proceeded to the waiting area to relax before our first flight to JFK in New York. Even though I convinced myself that I would not cry or tear up when saying goodbye to my family; I DID! So many emotions rushed into my head and wiped all my confidence away. As I walked through the security check tears rolled down my face and dropped on my sweatshirt. I wondered how I would get through this experience without my family. As I said bye and gave out my last hugs, my granddad called. It was a coincidence because I thought in my head that I did not call him as I said I would. So I said bye to my granddad and told him I loved him. This was something that I had not done in many years, so to hear him say he loved me made tears come down faster. After I passed through the security check, I did one last goodbye wave to my family and was on my way. I was very uneasy about the actual flight because I had never been on a plane before. I had a lot of bad thoughts in my head from movies and stories, but I managed to clear my head of those thoughts before the first flight taken off.
The flight to JFK in New York from RDU in Raleigh, North Carolina was very scary for me. The plane was so tiny and compact; it felt that if I were to stand up the plane would tip over. I felt very claustrophobic, but looking out the window was not helping. So I just closed my eyes and prayed silently. I sat in seat 1B, which was in the front next to my soon-to-be roommate, Shannon. I was terrified the whole ride, but thankfully Shannon was there to ease the stress. The flight was not that long but I was happy to land on ground. Our next flight was to depart New York to Rome at 5:20 p.m. This flight was not as bad as the first. I felt prepared and comfortable, because this was my second plane ride and the plane was bigger. It was very hard for me to fall asleep on this flight for two reasons. The first was that I could not seem to get comfortable and the second that the passengers around me talked the entire way to Rome. I was a little upset, but soon got over it. I found myself falling in and out of dreams; of all the situations that would be left behind and the new experiences that would come true right before my eyes once in Italy.
Tuesday morning we arrived here in Italy. We landed in Rome, only to find ourselves bouncing away on a four hour bus ride to Sansepolcro, Italy. Once we arrived, Dr. Betty Webb and Sara were waiting to greet us. They both seemed really nice. I felt very special that Sara offered to help carry my bags to the Palazzo. Sara was the first “true” Italian I ever set eyes on and I found myself staring at her in amazement. It took about three minutes to walk down the cobblestone road to get to the Palazzo. I was astonished at the beauty and surroundings of the Palazzo. It felt as if I was in a dream and had not awakened yet. All the different smells was refreshing and new to my senses. The smell of pizza and cigarettes lingered, which would last for three months. The Palazzo was gorgeous and the thought of it being my home for the next few months brought a smile to my face. But that smile soon disappeared once I began to unpack. As I unpacked I got very homesick, very quickly. I did not want to talk to anyone or see anyone but my family. At lunch I felt it the hardest, because I kept looking around and did not see anyone I knew. I just wanted to hold my head down and cry but I just kept quiet. After lunch, the group went walking around the city to get a feel of a Tuscan atmosphere. We walked to a store called the Pam, but on the way we saw many significant areas. We saw the town cathedral, the Piazza Torre Di Berta, and many small shops along the way. It was very exciting and motivating, but it still did not change my mood. For dinner we ate delicious pizza, which was the best I ever tried. Overall, the first day was depressing. So that night, I lay in bed and said my prayers till I fell asleep. I thought that things could only go up from here.
On Wednesday, my week started to look better for me. I was overly tired from jet-lag, but I pushed my way through four classes. My first impression of the class schedule was unpleasant. I felt overwhelmed and defeated before my experience began. After lunch, for some reason my entire attitude began to change. I felt better about my surroundings and lucky to be here. I had an art class later that day, which was very interesting. It was interesting not only because I was looking at the professor using Skype but also because I actually knew some of the material. A few topics, such as Greek columns and Roman inspirations, were familiar to me. After class, everyone went back to our computers to update our families on our newly found lives in Italy. All the girls sat in the green lounge, facebooking and skyping away. The green lounge was the only area, at the time that received internet connection, so due to this mishap all the girls were confined to the lounge. Later on that night, some of the girls realized that the plugs were not tightly secured in the wall, which was why the connection was bad. So then they fixed the plugs, making it more convenient to use the internet in our bedrooms. I was glad because walking to the green lounge was cold and uncomfortable. I talked with my mother and granddad that night. They were overly excited to talk to me and made me feel good about my decision to come here. The next morning I woke up early again for three classes. It was Thursday and I was excited, because that meant my last class would be over by 3:30. After my Justice and Liberty course, the group went to the COOP. The COOP was very similar to the Pam, which we had gone to a couple days before. Both stores were similar to a grocery store in the States, but still differing in many ways. It was interesting to look around and take pictures. I was really surprised at the shopping carts. The carts were neat; there was a hand-held cart that you could actually roll on the ground. It was my first time using Euros, not dollars. After leaving the COOP, everyone was tired. We attempted to do homework, but found it better to talk about all the things we had seen and will see soon!
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