9/23 - 9/29: Do All the Italian!

Sunday, September 23:

A lazy Sunday... finally! I slept in, did homework, uploaded pictures, blogged, had a dinner of pasta with lentils, chicken and potatoes, and apples, skyped my parents, read, and watched far too many videos on YouTube. I thought it was a pretty successful day. I was also apparently the go-to girl for plans and information on homework, since I fielded four separate phone calls this afternoon. A few of us wanted to go to a jazz club we'd walked past on our way back from the group outing to San Miniato but we discovered through a Google search that it was, sadly, closed on Sundays. Oh well. That's the thing about Florence: a lot of places are closed on Sundays. It takes some getting used to, but I kind of like it. Other than that, there's not much to report. Sunday was pretty chill!

Monday, September 24:

In Italian today, much of our class time was spent drilling past tense irregular verbs, since we're being quizzed on that tomorrow (yes, a quiz on Tuesday) and no one really understands it yet. This week will be intense, Italian-wise: our weekly quiz has been moved to Tuesday since we have our final on Friday! Then next Monday we start up the second half of our Italian class (and the rest of our elective courses). We'll drop down to 1.5 hours a day, three days a week instead of 3.5 hours a day, five days a week, so that'll be nice. However I'm a little worried that the pace will pick up a little too much. I hope I can keep up! After class and a quick lunch, a group of us meet with Sarah (the professor, not my roommate) for a short choir rehearsal. We've been given the opportunity to sing a short piece in San Marco during our trip to Venice (!!!), so we rehearsed a short chant that she thought would be appropriate. Apparently the group last year was also given the opportunity to sing something, but they didn't know ahead of time and so someone started singing some Broadway song. *facepalm* This year, we're playing it safe with Gregorian chant. I'm excited though. It should sound fantastic when we get into the church. After rehearsal, a smaller group of us attempted to go to the box office to purchase tickets to an orchestra concert in October. However the box office was closed, so we carefully recorded the hours so that we could come back some other time. Ian and I ended up hanging out and watching Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado About Nothing" while studying this afternoon (because he had never seen it - I was shocked). We're all a little worried about tomorrow's quiz. Dinner consisted of pan-pizzas, German beer, prosciutto and cheese, kale and cauliflower, and apricots (of which I ate 10... no shame!). Yes, that's right. My host mom served beer and pizza for dinner. Afterwards, Sarah and I studied together and ended up talking quite a bit. It's a good time.

Tuesday,  September 25:

I pretty much rocked my quiz today. No big deal. I did make one stupid mistake though, which Luigi attributed to my astrological sign (I might try using that as an excuse at home...). After class, a bunch of people headed to the grocery store to pick up food for lunch, but Sarah and I were set as Anna made us sandwiches this morning from last night's leftover prosciutto. It was so sweet of her! After lunch, I zipped through my Italian homework and then began getting a head-start on some of my readings for Gail's class. She gave us a heads-up on the four readings we'd be using for our first reading response, so I decided to work ahead. Why not, right? It'll save me time later. Later that afternoon, the whole group took a walk to the Cecil Studios (the art studio where the drawing class is being taught). I'm not in the class, but Jodi said anyone could come along, so I figured I'd join in. It was a really nice walk and the studio was really cool. I'm excited for the people taking the drawing class! The teachers seem amazing and I'm sure they'll all learn a ton. Afterwards, Megan, Merissa, Isa, and I checked out one of the gelaterias that Luigi recommended - La Carraia - which was relatively close to Cecil Studios. It was so good! I can definitely see why it made his top 6 list. Back at the apartment later, Sarah and I had a mini-rant session about the fact that a few people on the trip don't seem to understand what an amazing opportunity this semester is for us. People are complaining about the silliest things, hating on the city, each other, and some of the schoolwork we've been given and I just don't get it. Yes, there are tourists, that's what happens in a city. Also, we've been told tourist season will be ending soon. Yes, you're with a group of people that isn't your normal group. We're all a little out of our element here, so go easy on people. And yes, there is schoolwork. What did you expect? You're STUDYING abroad. Seriously. We're young adults. Deal with yourself. (end rant) Dinner was some very vegetable-y soup (literally bright green), homemade pan-fried chicken (SO AMAZING), salad, bread, and grapes. It's a good thing Anna likes to serve me so much food because I couldn't get enough of dinner tonight. Everything was delicious. She kept asking if we liked the food and if we thought it was good and finally I just started saying "everything's delicious. It's always delicious." (Yep, I'm rocking these Italian language skills.) We told Anna about our quiz today and the final on Friday during dinner. She seemed really proud of us for doing well on today's quiz. We also talked about the Pope. Anna's mom is very Catholic and we got the impression that Anna isn't too impressed with the current Pope (however, because Nonna was at the table, she couldn't really say anything about it). Sarah and I talked a little about religion and what we knew of the Pope afterwards. I also started reading "Brunelleschi's Dome" (by Ross King), which Jodi listed as recommended (though not required) reading. It's good so far! [Note to students who are looking into the Florence program: check this book out of the library, it's a good read and it'll give you a nice overview of one of the city's larger monuments - the Duomo.]

Wednesday, September 26:

Today we started reviewing for our final. This consisted of "let's go through everything we've learned this past month and do worksheets." It was pretty helpful, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow when all we're doing is asking Luigi to clarify anything we don't understand (I may or may not have started a list of things to ask about, just to double check that I've got the right idea...). Luigi also shared the "story of the final," which meant giving us some info on the format and what kinds of things we should expect to see. After lunch, I read another of Gail's articles. Two down, two to go! At 4pm (or 16:00) Gail's class went up to San Miniato for a field trip. Guess what? San Miniato's still beautiful. Gail gave us a short lecture on the sacristy (the stories behind the frescoes are pretty cool!) and then we were free to go. Gretchen and I stayed behind though; Professor Sarah's music class was there to hear Mass and Vespers in the crypt and she invited anyone who was interested to stay behind with them. I couldn't pass that up and Gretchen thought it'd be interesting too, so we joined in! Why not. (That's become my motto for the optional trips that are open for anyone to attend: why not. I want to do everything!) Long story short, both Mass and Vespers were pretty awesome. I was able to follow along with most of the liturgy because of my knowledge of Latin, plus we were in the crypt. Doesn't get much better than that. After bus-ing back to the apartment, we had a dinner of rice and parmesean, salmon, zucchini, turnip greens, bread, and apples. Yum :) Dinner was followed by the most epic of dance breaks (courtesy of Beyonce), which was mostly just to get me amped up for studying. Sarah and I then shared our favorite moments of Italian class thus far. Tons of quotes were shared, exaggerated imitations followed, much laughter was had.

Thursday, September 27:

Today was the day when it finally hit me: I hadn't realized until today just how much Italian we'd learned in the past month. But now, prepping for the final tomorrow, it's a little intimidating. But anyway, after class, Megan and I walked to the box office (yet again - but it was open this time!) to buy tickets to that orchestra concert in October. On the way back, we stopped for gelato at this place called B. Ice, which was all natural and real tasty. Back at Linguaviva, we had lunch and hung out for a while before heading to the library for a change of scene and to study. Ian, Kara, Isa, Gretchen, Sarah, and I grabbed some comfy couches in the children's section and quizzed each other on vocabulary and crammed as much grammar as possible into our brains. I proved once more that I navigate by gelaterias: once I've been to a gelateria, I can invariably find it again. Plus, I remember what other landmarks are near the gelaterias and get then get back to those too! It's a talent. Sarah and I walked back to the apartment and got back just in time for a dinner of pasta, potato and egg frittata, salad, beans, olive bread, and apples. I then did a ton of email writing and reading. Whew. I didn't stay up to late because this week has been physically and emotionally exhausting.

Friday, September 28:

Today's the day. Italian final, you're going down. Before Sarah and I left this morning, Anna wished us "In bocca al lupo," which is an Italian good luck phrase. Literally translated, "in bocca al lupo" means "into the wolf's mouth you go." We replied with the traditional response: "crepi il lupo," meaning "wish that the wolf dies!" The exam was both easier than I thought and not at all what I had been preparing for. Before the coffee break, we did the written portion of the exam; afterwards, the oral portion (which was merely a short conversation with our teachers). Isa and I bought ourselves a celebration lunch, consisting of bread, cheese, and salami for sandwiches, peach tea and raspberries for me, and chocolate truffles for both of us. We need to take a moment to talk about peach tea. This stuff is amazing. So amazing that I am including a picture to illustrate how much I love it.

This stuff. It is my lifeblood.

This stuff is actually tea - there have been those who have tried to convince me that it's flavored water but that is NOT TRUE. It's tea brewed with tea leaves from Sri Lanka, infused with peach and lemon juice. It is my new favorite drink (so much so that I bought and drank an entire litre and a half of the stuff. No shame.). This is a big deal for me because, try as I might, I hardly ever like tea.

Anyway. After lunch, Isa, Ian, Gretchen, and I headed out on a walk to go check out the Uffizi - only to discover that there's a strike. Not to be discouraged, we walked to the Accademia (where Michelangelo's David is housed) only to find that this strike extends to all state museums. Well poop. So we walked and we sweated and we went on a lovely afternoon adventure walk. We ate gelato, mused about talking a trip to Paris, bought a corkscrew, and then went our separate ways. I also bought my ticket for Fall Break today! Look out London, I'm coming for you. Later on in the afternoon, Sarah and I went to the grocery store and bought yogurt, fruit, and, in my case, more peach tea (as evidenced by the 1.5L bottle in that last picture...). Dinner tonight was rice and cheese, chicken, potatoes and onions, bread, and grapes. Anna's daughter and her boyfriend were over for dinner, but because of traffic, Sarah and I were essentially done by the time they got in. So we were excused so that Anna could spend time with her family and we spent our time watching videos on YouTube. Then suddenly it was 11:30... I think there was a time warp.

Saturday, September 29:

I slept in and then worked on some art history articles pretty much all day. Art history and I are not starting off on good terms but I am determined to work through it. I was given the opportunity to possibly present on an article this Monday during our first official day of class, but that meant that I had to spend my weekend trying to understand this article. I'm sure I'll get there. Halfway through the afternoon, we got all dressed up and walked to Santa Croce to meet Isa for gelato at Vivoli before meeting everyone else (and by "everyone" I mean six other people) at the ballet. We had decided a few weeks ago to get tickets for this modern ballet that was happening and since we got a student discount, it was another "why not" situation. The ballet, "Les Noces," consisted of three pieces: the first was really fun and entertaining - powder wigs and ball gowns on wheels were involved. The second scared me; it was like District 9 meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Alien meets The Thing, plus strange insect-oid white noise. The third still has me thinking.... I think it was some sort of carnal pleasures piece, but I could be way off. No matter what, it was an experience.

We all got dressed up!

After the ballet, Isa, Gretchen, Ian, and I went out to Ponte Vecchio just to relax, hang out, and listen to music. We ended up at the jazz club that we'd wanted to go to last Sunday (but was closed) and it was a super classy place. I got bruschetta (I was hungry. It was good.) and we split a bottle of wine (the €14 one, not the €15.000 one.... yes that existed.)

PROOF! It was expensive.

On our way back it started to rain a little bit, but I had my umbrella so Gretchen and I stayed relatively dry. It was quite the lovely night, even without the €15.000 bottle of wine.

9/16 - 9/22: Whole huge week update

As evidenced by the fact that I haven't posted all week, I've been pretty busy. My week in bullet points:

- Gelato
- Vogue fashion night
- Classes beginning (kind of)
- Visiting the Immigration Office
- Stumping all three professors with Ian
and finally,
- Visiting Pisa and Lucca

And now, the fleshed out version.

Sunday, September 16:
I slept in, then Sarah and I attempted to go to a soccer football game. The line was super long and the student ticket price we'd been quoted was not listed, so we decided to try another time. That way we could pre-order and actually wear some purple (the Florentine team color)! Instead of football, Sarah, Gretchen, Isa, and I got gelato (nutella and mixed berry, for me) and window shopped. After a lovely afternoon walk, Sarah and I headed back to the apartment, where I finished my homework, uploaded photos, and did that last big blog update. Dinner on Sunday was pasta with roasted peppers, meatballs, soft cheese with herbs, salad, bread, and apples. Delicious. I skyped Mom and Dad after dinner, which was quite nice.

Monday, September 17:
During Italian class today, Luigi taught us some bad words. It was really funny watching him get slightly flustered saying some of the worse words, but he taught us "cavolo" (garbage) and "capperi" (capers), which are apparently some polite bad words. After class, I grabbed a quick lunch and then did homework before meeting with Jodi for a chat. Jodi scheduled short meetings with all of us to check in with us individually, see how we were doing in Italian, make sure our home stays are going well so far, and just get to know us a little better. I think a lot of people were a little nervous about it, but Jodi's so nice and genuinely cares about all of us as students and as people, so there really wasn't anything to be worried about! I had a great time chatting with her. Once I got back to the apartment, I dropped my stuff off and then took a walk with Gretchen. We ended up trying out a "yoghurteria" (instead of a gelateria) and finding out that the yoghurt version of gelato is really really good. From what we could figure out, it's got more milk in it than regular gelato (which makes sense), so it's ridiculously creamy. Yum yum. Dinner on Monday was Sarah and my new favorite so far: vegetable soup, Spanish potato and egg pancakes, and peaches. Tonight's "aww" moment came when Nonna started slurping her soup. Anna immediately chastised her, since it's generally not polite to pick your bowl up and chug your soup, but Nonna simply smiled and said "why not? We're all family!" Sarah and I melted. My night was quite relaxing; since I finished all my homework at school, I got to chill out and read (for FUN!) before going to bed early. Nice!

Tuesday, September 18:
We learned more about prepositions today in Italian, but none of us are really sure we understand the proper usage yet. Mostly we're mixed up about when to use both a preposition and an article, rather than just a preposition. Hopefully that will be cleared up later in the week. After the coffee break, Luigi took us out to Piazza della Repubblica for a lesson on "asking directions." He prepped us on phrases to use when asking directions and then handed out a list of location that we had to ask the locals about. Isa and I partnered up and got through our list pretty fast. Most of the locations were places we were already familiar with, so we had to work on acting like we really had no idea that there was, for instance, a pharmacy right behind us. We got a couple strange looks (particularly from the lady who pointed the Duomo out to us - she looked at us like we were idiots) and, funnily enough, half the time people answered in English, despite the fact that we had asked in Italian. I had my first class today: "Power, Protection, and Commerce" with Gail (just an introductory class period, plus a short on-site visit, since classes don't officially start until October 2. This was mostly just to make sure we could jump right into it in October). We talked about the syllabus, were told a little about what to expect from the class, and then visited the Baptistery. What a beautiful place.

The ceiling of the Baptistry.

One of the sets of doors to the Baptistry.

On the way back to Linguaviva, I stopped to grab some gelato (from a place right on the way to the Duomo that I had, for some reason, never noticed). I had a triumphant moment: I ordered my gelato entirely in Italian (including a quick chat with the man behind the counter) and impressed the Japanese tourists behind me. I also heard from the Study Abroad coordinator at Coe. He wrote to all of the students off-campus this semester to check up on us and fill us in on the news back at home. I wrote him back and told him a little about life in Florence; he was thrilled about my love of gelato, to the point of saying "woman survives 4 months in Florence on 38 flavors of gelato and one sentence in Italian." My sentiments exactly. Once I got back to the apartment after class, I did some homework (including putting a lot of deadlines, site visits, etc into my planner) before dinner (which was penne pasta, homemade fish sticks, stewed cabbage, and plums - of which I had four). Afterwards I did some more reading and then headed to Piazza della Repubblica for Vogue's fashion night. All that fashion night meant was that the really expensive stores around Piazza della Repubblica stayed open later, played music a little too loudly, and handed out free drinks and some appetizers. It was fun and I'm glad I went, however I never have to do it again. There were a few too many people there and I couldn't hear myself think. Oh well. Experiences are good! 

Wednesday, September 19:

Italian class today was spent prepping for our quiz tomorrow (yes, on a Thursday rather than Friday), followed by a trip to the Immigration Office. We have to finish filling out our "permit of stay" to be legally able to live in Florence for the semester, which requires finger-printing and filing some paperwork at the Immigration Office. Kate took us all down there this afternoon to show us where to go and walk us through the paperwork (which we actually filled out during orientation). Thursday and Friday we'll have our individual appointments, at which point we'll be heading down to the office ourselves. When we got back to Linguaviva, it was time for lunch before my second "first" class, "Gender, Patronage, and Power." It rained steadily all day, so I was glad to have my umbrella with me while I waited for the bus. I had a few hours of downtime at the apartment, which was nice. I did some more homework (reading, mostly) and then had a super awesome dinner of vegetable soup, spicy chicken and tomato salad, bread, apples, and plums again. Our dinner conversation was really great tonight and made both me and Sarah feel much more confident about our language skills. I talked with Anna about opera (which she loves), told a story about Italian class today (where Luigi told me that plums were nasty and Anna replied by giving a very sassy "you tell Luigi that your Italian mama says plums are delicious!") and Sarah and I talked about today's classes (explaining that it was pretty much music history right now), and our love of gelato. Anna laughed when we told her that we always want gelato and she told us that there was a gelateria just down the street. Sarah and I put our sweaters on and went straight out after dinner. It was just one of those days where gelato was necessary (but let's face it, I have those days all the time). We ate our gelato and walked around the neighborhood for a little while before heading back to finish our Italian homework and go to bed.

Thursday, September 20:

The Italian quiz went well today - despite the fact that it was graded solely on reading comprehension and writing. Other than that, class was uneventful. I grabbed gelato between class and lunch (gotta sneak it in sometime!) and then headed back to Linguaviva to enjoy the sandwich I had packed. (Note to future students: it's really tempting to buy lunch every day. There are so many foods to try and they all look and/or smell so good! However, this is extremely expensive. A lunch you pack yourself is just as tasty and much cheaper than anything you'll buy on the street or in the store. Trust me.) I had my last "first" class today, Jodi's "The Medici as Patrons of the Arts." We went through the syllabus, pulled the subject of our first oral report out of a hat, and then headed out to the Baptistery (which is still just as beautiful). Today we focused on the tomb of Pope John XXIII (who was, in reality, one of the anti-popes who was elected during the Great Schism and was, in Gail's words, "a very horrible person"). After class, Ian, Sarah, and I walked to the travel agency to check how much a ticket to Perugia costs. We're trying to hit Perugia up at the beginning of fall break, so as to experience the Perugia Chocolate Festival! Hurray for making fall break plans! When we got back to the apartment, I looked up flights for fall break, but was only comparison shopping for now. Dinner consisted of potato gnocchi in tomato sauce, fried sardines (which were oh so salty), salad, bread, olives, and grapes. Anna's friend Vittoria was over for dinner again and it was great to be able to talk to her a little more. Anna and Vittoria left early to go to a movie (a double feature with Marlena Dietrich, from what we understood), so Sarah and I were left alone with Nonna. We've discovered that Nonna speaks a slightly different dialect of Italian, so even though we're getting better at conversation with Anna, we're still totally lost when it comes to talking with Nonna. However we were able to understand when she asked if Sarah and I were friends or sisters, because we talked like sisters. We laughed and told her that she was very sweet. After dinner I blow Nonna's mind by helping her fold the tablecloth in a way that she had, apparently, never seen before. We instantly became best friends and I wasn't totally unsure of what I had just gotten myself into. I then had to stay with Nonna in the kitchen for a while, helping her "clean up" (which just meant take the things that were on the table and move them to the counter, while moving everything from the counter onto the table.... one by one....) before I could escape and get to my homework. I finished up fast and headed to bed. My Immigration appointment is early Friday morning!

Friday, September 21:

I spent two hours in the Immigration Office this morning, meaning I missed the first half of Italian class. While the teachers had all been warned that we'd be late (so I didn't miss too much), I still felt miles behind and totally confused when I got back. We started reflexive verbs today, but didn't spend too long on them, meaning that part of our homework (writing 10 sentences using reflexive verbs) will be a little tricky. Even though there are no classes or ACM obligations scheduled for the afternoon, a few of us eat lunch at Linguaviva anyway. We also gave in and got french fries from McDonald's. We've been here for three weeks and the smell of french fries wafting through the air every time we walked past McDonald's to get to the train and bus station was driving us nuts. Thankfully fries don't cost much, so we grabbed some to complement our lunches. Afterwards, Ian and I walked to Gelateria di Medici (which is our favorite gelateria so far). Once we got our gelato we walked to a small park near the gelateria and sat there enjoying the sun, talking, and eating. Fun times. I headed back to the apartment and hung out for a while, I debated taking a nap but didn't end up getting there. Gretchen and I headed back into town at one point, to walk around and see what we could see. We ended up doing some shopping (we both have a new dress now) and then finding the English bookstore near the Duomo! It was the cutest bookstore. I perused their "gently used" shelves and ended up buying myself a little something. When we finally went our separate ways, it was almost time for dinner. I had been craving pasta all day and was happy to discover that our first course of the night was, in fact, pasta with tomato sauce and lentils! We also had omelets, coleslaw, cauliflower salad, and apples. We also discovered that I can recognize a butt-load of Italian food words (not really surprising when you think about it). We asked Anna what was in the coleslaw, since it looked like cabbage and had a dressing that we didn't recognize on it and she rattled off the ingredients for us. I don't know why, but for some reason, the speed didn't phase me. I followed along quite well and found out that this was not, in fact, cabbage but kale coleslaw with a dressing of olive oil and apple cider vinegar, along with a dash of salt and pepper. I have mad food skills. The moral of this story is: I am, apparently, not so good conversationally, but put me in the kitchen and I'd be just fine. 

Saturday, September 22:

Today was spent in Pisa and Lucca! Pisa was amazing; the baptistery, cathedral, and the Camposanto were beautiful - plus the leaning tower (which is actually a bell tower) was, you know, still leaning. And very touristy. But awesome. Jodi started the morning off by buying everyone a pastry and a hot drink at one of Pisa's most famous café's. I had a cannoli and hot chocolate (which was so chocolately, it seemed like they had just melted a chocolate bar in my cup) and they were worth it. We visited the sites (and Ian and I stumped Professors Jodi, Gail, and Sarah when we brought up the mythological figure of Lilith. None of them had ever heard of her! We were shocked.), took tons of pictures, and were dazzled by the amazing artistry that makes up these locations.

The Leaning Tower!

Inside Pisa's Duomo.

Frescoes inside the Camposanto.

Jodie showing off a Roman sarcophagus.

Once we had finished up in the Camposanto, we were free to do our own thing. Ian, Gretchen, Isa, Kara, Sammy, and I took pictures with the Leaning Tower and then found a cheap restaurant for pizza and pasta for lunch. After lunch we caught the train to Lucca and spent an hour or so there and are determined to go back sometime. It was great. We walked around on the walls of the city and I got my gelato for the day (chocolate and strawberry). We took the train back to Florence and got back just in time for dinner (which was green vegetable soup again, with beef stew and apples) before heading back into town for the last night of the Florentine Wine Tasting festival. Isa and I got another commemorative wine glass and tried some really nice wine. It was a nice close to a beautiful day.

The requisite tourist photo.

And there you have it, my entire week. Jeez.

Florence, Day 16

Let's all take a moment and celebrate the fact that I am, for the first time this semester, completely caught up on my blog. This may not happen often, so I will enjoy this feeling of productivity while it lasts.

I slept in Saturday morning, which was quite nice. After breakfast, Gretchen and I caught the bus downtown to Linguaviva so that we could meet up with Ian and Isa for our trip to the gardens. We took an impromptu trip over to the park next to Fortezza da Basso for an antique fair that was going on, simply because we were curious and it was a beautiful day. Afterwards we took a leisurely walk down to Ponte Vecchio so that we could get to Palazzo Pitti, where the Bobli Gardens are.

Students who may be considering the ACM Florence program: please please please take advantage of your student museum card. We were able to get into the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens, plus 3 museum galleries in the palace for FREE because of these cards. Keep this card on you at all times and use it as much as you can because it is so worth it.

We ended up spending three hours in the garden alone and then about an hour more inside in the galleries. We couldn't take pictures inside the galleries but here are some from our time in the garden:

This block was missing a statue. Naturally, I filled in for the missing piece.

We ended up walking the entire garden. While I'm sure there are some corners we didn't turn and some rabbit trails we didn't follow, I'm pretty sure we saw 90% of the garden. Wow. Parts seemed a little wild, but it was still beautiful. We struck lucky with the weather too; it was such a gorgeous day, perfect for spending outside in a garden.

We walked back to Santa Maria Novella, stopping for gelato along the way (I tried chocolate-rum-raisin-orange, which is all one flavor, and it was so good), and hung out on the benches in front of the church for a while, making after-dinner plans. Eventually I headed back to the apartment for dinner; chicken burgers, liver and onions (of which I was not a fan), potatoes and onions, and grapes and apples. After dinner I went back out to Santa Maria Novella to go out with Gretchen, Isa, and Ian. We ended up meeting some German students who were traveling around Europe just playing their guitar and harmonica wherever they felt like stopping. I had no idea Florence was such an international university city!

All in all, a great day followed by a pretty good night. 

Florence, Day 15

I rocked that Italian quiz today.

We also got to combine with the other two ACM Italian classes and watch the first half of an Italian film called "Un Bella Vita." Apparently it gets really sad at the end, so I'll have that to look forward to *sarcasm.*

After lunch, a group of us walked to the theater to buy discount student tickets to a ballet on the 29th. I also picked out a concert that I want to see, but we weren't able to buy tickets yet (they haven't been released yet!). But this means that we'll have at least two opportunities to dress up and go see a concert/ballet/fancy event.

We split into smaller groups on the way back, with my group finding a Scandinavian kitchen supply store near the Duomo (where Ian and I both went "my heritage!") and then stumbling across a fabulous gelateria who's claim to fame is the fact that they only use all natural, fresh ingredients. I had stracciatella (chocolate chip) and it might have made me melt a little bit.

After our daily gelato time, we headed to the library, where I filled out a form that will grant me internet access at the library (kind of nice to have that) and then headed back up to the children's section. I think I have a new favorite Italian book, titled Un Giorno con Miffy (or, A Day with Miffy) - which, I'm proud to say, I was able to read in its entirety.

Yep. I read this.

Yes, it's a lift the flap book, but in a world where I have to put down some of the more advanced early reader books, I was happy to find something that I could read and comprehend. It's the little things. I found out that Miffy was on vacation from school and that she liked jam on her bread at breakfast time; she likes playing outside with her friends, and she thinks flowers are pretty. I think Miffy and I could get along just fine.

I also talked with a small child in the library (well, mostly just played peek-a-boo, but still, I did get to ask if she liked the book she was reading). When Ian and I finally left the library we said "Ciao" and waved to her, and she very enthusiastically waved back and replied "ciao!!!"

Dinner at the apartment was a radicchio bake (it smelled like mushroom pizza, but Sarah and I found after we finished it that it was in fact chicory), three types of cheese (so much that I could hardly finish it all), steamed zucchini, and grapes. I also finally managed to tell Anna that I want the recipe for her steamed zucchini! (Last time, she thought I was trying to say that I was going to a cooking school in Florence.)

After dinner, Gretchen and I went for a walk around our neighborhood (the perks of only living a block apart) and then finalized our group plans for tomorrow - a trip to the Boboli gardens!

For now, I'm just excited that I get to sleep in a little tomorrow. Like I said, it's the little things.

Florence, Day 14

Italian class today was spent prepping for our quiz tomorrow. After last week and a surprisingly easy quiz, we're all a little worried about it. Luigi has warned us that the tests get progressively harder and we know the quiz will deal with irregular verb conjugations. Tricky stuff. However I have made flashcards and am quizzing myself almost obsessively. Fingers crossed I do well.

After lunch we met up for an optional trip up to Fiesole with Jodi. Turns out that most of the ACM group wanted to go! We walked to Piazza San Marco and caught the bus up to Fiesole, a hilltop community just outside of Florence and the site of a major archaeological dig. We're talking Roman AND Etruscan ruins. I was pretty excited. It was pretty windy on the hilltop, but still really cool.

Hanging out in the Roman amphitheater.

Jodie, leading the way to the Roman temple, situated on top
of the Etruscan temple.

I don't have many moments when I think something is breathtaking. I have moments where I think things are beautiful or I really appreciate what I'm seeing. However Fiesole was breathtaking. The ruins were incredible, the small on-site museum was filled with amazing artifacts, and the view of Florence was one of the best I have ever seen. We toured the Roman theater, the Etruscan and Roman temples, and the Roman baths, before heading inside out of the wind to the museum (which featured such items as those I've included below).

A skeleton found in the ruins, along with various burial objects.

A pottery style called "Bucchero," which refers to the black
color the pottery gains in the firing process.

After the museum we walked to the overview (which is higher up the hillside) to take in the view. So beautiful! We also timed everything just right and were able to get into the Franciscan church and monastery/museum. More cool stuff. Through mission work to other countries they've accumulated a bunch of stuff from other countries... including an entire Egyptian mummy.

(L to R) Isa, Gretchen, me, and Sarah, with Florence behind us!

We took the bus back to San Marco and then I proceeded to get a group of us back to Linguaviva quickly and efficiently - and before the group that took the bus "because it was faster" made it back. Score. Once we'd grabbed our stuff, a few of us walked to a gelateria that has been getting rave reviews in the ACM group. Clearly I had to try it out. It was indeed amazing. This place is making the list. I tried the house special, "crema di Medici," and green apple (mele verde) and I am so going back to try their other stuff. It was exactly what gelato should be: rich, creamy, and delicious.

Back at the apartment, I had a little time for homework before dinner, which was roast beef with stewed potatoes, carrots, and celery, with roasted cauliflower, fresh olives, and grapes. Plus Anna surprised us with organic chocolate raspberry gelato bars (equivalent to Dove bars)! So good. Now back to studying for that quiz tomorrow....

Florence, Day 13

First off, let's just all appreciate the view I get while walking around this city.

Overlooking the Arno.

Now that we've taken care of that....

We discussed our library worksheets in Italian class today. One of the questions dealt with talking about our favorite book(s); I, of course, talked about Lord of the Rings, but found out that there are apparently some more negative connotations associated with the series here in Italy, since some radical underground political groups use some of the symbolism in the book to represent their organizations. Well. Color me surprised. However, once Luigi explained this to us he told me that I "didn't look like one of those people." Glad to hear it. It's always interesting (if not surprising) to hear about the different meanings of books in a different culture.

Isa and I used our break to go get more of that magical food: gelato sticks. I know I've said it before, but I need to reiterate: those little things are amazing. I can't get over the fact that they're from McDonald's. They're just so good!

After lunch the whole group followed Jodi down to the Galileo Museum (I took the first picture on the way there) for a big group tour. It was incredible. I've included a picture or two from our tour, but I can't believe I actually some of the artifacts I saw today.

A geo-centric armillary sphere

Two of Galileo's own telescopes!

There were so many things to see. I can't even really put it into writing. But it was amazing and if anyone is going to Florence at any point in the future, I would definitely recommend going to the Galileo Museum. (Click on the link: there's a virtual tour!)

Sarah, Isa, and I went back to Linguaviva by way of some souvenir shops. We hunted down some postcards to mail off to the States and then went on a quest for gelato. We ended up finding the gelateria that my host mom thinks is the best in Florence and I tried apricot gelato for the first time.

Back at the apartment, we had rice, cheese, fish, salad, and plums and grapes for dinner. I still have not mastered the art of completely deboning my fish. It was not entirely pleasant. After dinner Sarah and I settled down in our room for homework and some jams. Time to get back to work on my Italian adverbs!

Florence, Day 12

Today during the second half of our Italian class, we took a field trip to the Oblate Biblioteca (the Florentine public library). That's right, the library. And I am now officially a card-holding member. It's pretty sweet. We were given a worksheet (similar to the one we had to fill out on our last field trip to the market) that involved finding an Italian book of poetry and a children's story that we knew. I spent a lot of time in the children's section of the library, mostly because I could actually read the books that were in there. It's a strange feeling to suddenly not be able to read anything but the simplest kids books. I know I've only been taking Italian for about a week, but part of me feels very frustrated when I pick up a book on English literature (or something else that I would normally pick up in the library on campus) and can't read a word of it. However kids books are a great way to learn more of the language - they're written using the easiest sentence structure and utilize a lot of sight words. And I can read them. Thank God.

Rewind a little ways to the first half of class today: Luigi shared the names of his top 6 gelaterias in Florence. I have been to three of them. Luigi was rather impressed when he kept giving us names and I would say, "oh that one's good!" He finally just shrugged and told my classmates "you listen to Anna. She knows her gelato."

Back at Linguaviva, Isa and I headed down to our spot in the courtyard (affectionally named "our table") for lunch and homework. Time to be impressed: I finished all of my homework before 2pm (or 14:00, if you go by the European clock).

This afternoon we had "course presentations" where the four professors we're working with (Jodi, Gail, Sarah, and George, the representative from the Cecil Studios) stood up and explained what their classes will be about. We were given the add/drop form (just in case) and then talked about our weekly and semester calendars (for some reason people found them confusing? I don't know. I thought they made sense.)

Afterwards, Gretchen, Isa, and I went to the WIND store to reload/purchase SIM cards for our phones. Yay for running errands. We treated ourselves to gelato afterwards, where I had Mars Bar (holy cow, it was amazing. Plus there were pieces of Mars Bar in it.) and Chocolate Chip Cookie - so good. I've also decided to make my on top 5 (or 10, who knows) list of gelaterias. Why not? I'm certainly eating enough of the stuff to make an informed decision on which are the best ones.

Dinner was squash-minestrone soup again (don't care, it's good), with chicken burgers and salad, and grapes for dessert. I also think Anna has figured out that Sarah and I will eat whatever she puts in front of us (even if we're not sure about it), because she keeps pressing more food on us. We end up eating second or even third helpings of dinner because she tells us there can't be leftovers and that we must finish it. It's good food, but we leave the table absolutely fit to burst. First world problems. 

Florence, Day 11

I am quite sunburned. Good thing I brought Aloe!

Today in Italian class, we worked on prepositions. At this point, none of my class understands exactly what's going on with Italian prepositions and every time we asked for clarification or realized that we had really messed one up, Luigi merely said "Is ok. Even Italians get confused by the prepositions." Well, at least it's not just us.

Isa and I had lunch in the Linguaviva courtyard (and were soon joined by one of the other boys on the trip, Michael) and spent an hour or so doing our homework before heading out to the Church of Orsanmichele with Jodi and the whole group. The church (which used to be a medieval open-air market, or loggia, and granary) was really pretty and had some amazing sculptures in it (pictures below), but a lot of people weren't really paying attention which was a bummer for those of us who actually wanted to be there.

The medieval stonework at Orsanmichele.

The elaborately decorated altar inside.

One of the statuary niches.

Things to know about Jodi: she rocks. They were getting ready to close the museum on the second floor of Orsanmichele (which is where they now keep the original statues from the building, for conservation purposes) for a dinner party that was happening that night and she managed to talk the volunteer in charge of admission into letting us all in for a half hour or so. Holy crap. We saw some amazing stuff, like the original of the four statues in the last picture above. Jodi knows an incredible amount of information too, so the entire time we were up there I was just trying to drink it all in. Talk about a wealth of knowledge.

After we were dismissed from Orsanmichele, Gretchen, Isa, Ian, Sarah, and I went to Grom since Sarah hadn't been able to experience their gelato the first night we met as a group. I tried chocolate and blueberry. I'm kind of convinced Grom doesn't have a bad flavor in their entire shop.

Once we had successfully had our daily gelato time, we headed back to Linguaviva to pick up our Italian books (which we hadn't wanted to carry with us) and then grabbed our bus back to the apartment. Gretchen was going to come over to Sarah and my room (since we live about a block and a half apart), so I memorized a long sentence to tell Signora Anna, asking if she minded if Gretchen studied with us and telling her how long she would be over. I was super pumped to be able to use my carefully crafted sentence but then ended up only using about half of it on Nonna (who is a little bit deaf) because Anna wasn't home yet.

Dinner was amazing, to the point where Sarah and I felt it necessary to get a picture (which is below).

Probably Sarah and my favorite dinner yet.

Toast topped with prosciutto, cheese, and fried eggs, plus potatoes and bean salad on the side. Oh my. Family, be warned: I will be making this when I get home. I will hunt down the good prosciutto and cheese it requires. Good Lord, it was good. Sarah and I pulled out our dictionaries just to be able to shower Anna with compliments for this specific dish. She brushed us off a bit, but I think she was secretly very flattered. Score.

Florence, Day 10

My day can be summed up in 3 words: beach, sunburn, gelato.

A group of us left the station in Florence at 8:57 this morning, on a train headed to the seaside town of Cecina. Cecina is on the west coast of Italy, about two hours south of Florence. Personally, I enjoyed the train ride - there were some very pretty views of the countryside and, once we got a little closer to Cecina, the Mediterranean.

So I can officially say that I have swum in the Mediterranean. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Once we got off the train, we had a half hour walk from the train station to the beachfront - but again, I thought it was pleasant, we were on a tree-lined avenue (pictured below) the whole time.

Stock photo of Viale della Repubblica

While on the way, the rest of the girls wanted to stop and grab a few snacks and some cheap towels at supermercato, so Ian and I (being the intrepid adventurers that we are) blazed the trail ahead and snagged the group a pretty prime spot on the beach. The others final joined us and all seven of us set up our towels in a little circle. Sunbathing, pictures, swimming, eating, chatting, and relaxing ensued.

Look! I'm at the Mediterranean!

(L to R) Isa, Ian, and me

The paying section of the beach; colorful, but not as fun
as the free section we went to!

Awkwardly awesome statue near our spot.

After a lunch of sandwiches (which we packed and brought from Florence), Ian and I were still hungry, so we took a walk down the boardwalk in search of more cheap food. We ended up getting gelato (that's right, it was daily gelato time) at this little open-air café. We both tried a flavor that we didn't recognize: for me, chocolate and "cookie," which did actually turn out to be cookie flavored, and chocolate and "bounty" for Ian. We still don't know what "bounty" was, but it tasted phenomenal. We also found a pizza by the slice shop that gave us a piece of margherita pizza that was, no joke, as big as my head for € 1.30. Pretty sweet deal.

I got myself a pretty brutal sunburn while in Cecina, but I also scored a watch-tan, so I figure it evens out.

The train-ride back to Florence was an experience for all of us. I'd also like to take this opportunity to tell you all that everything I heard about the Italian train system was a total lie for the Florence-Cecina line. The train was A. on time, B. clean, C. air-conditioned, and D. had pretty comfy seats. Once we made it back to Florence, Isa, Ian, Gretchen, and I grabbed more gelato (because, hello, daily gelato time is all the time). I had mixed berry (or frutti di Bosco), but it was pretty icy, so that was disappointing.

Back at the apartment, we were treated to a dinner of pasta, prosciutto and cheese with crusty bread, and fruit. My host mom saw my sunburn and immediately was all over me, feeling the temperature of my skin and telling me (all in Italian) about a sun cream she has that I had to use after dinner. That's the nice thing about the host families so far. They have, pretty much across the board, gone out of their way  to make sure we're all taken care of. The food that I'm being given every night is really good, my bedroom is actually pretty large, and I have a really nice lady looking out for me (seriously, she forced this bottle of sol crema into my hands).

After dinner, I sat down and did my Italian homework and then skyped with my parents, which was really nice. It was really good to see them and hear their voices. Emailing is great and all, but there's something about actually talking to your parents that feels really, really good. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Florence, Day 9

Sarah and I are up super early for a Saturday... catching the bus downtown at 7:34. We take a big bus that's been reserved for just us ACM folks to the Chianti region (yes, that's where the wine comes from), stopping in Siena to spend the morning and early afternoon touring the Cathedral and the museum that's connected to it.

First of all, Siena is gorgeous. That's all that really needs to be said about that. However since a picture's worth a thousand words, take a look and decide for yourself.

Siena from the sky! Actually from a tower.

We started out at the Basilica di San Domenico, which is dedicated to St. Catherine of Siena and Madonna (you'll soon see that just about everything in this city is somehow dedicated to Mary... she's the patron saint of the city). St. Catherine is a huge deal in Siena, mostly because it's her home city, but she died while still young during a visit to Rome. The diocese in Rome decided to bury her in Rome and not return her body to her homeland, however the Italians are (like me) a stubborn people. The Sienese people found out about Rome's decision and went to claim Catherine's head (and, mysteriously, a finger...) as relics and brought them back to Siena, where they are housed in the basilica to this day.

After the basilica, we walked to Siena's Duomo and entered the Crypt (SO COOL). The second room of the crypt was only discovered and excavated in 1990s, so this is still a pretty new thing. Since this room of the crypt was sealed with dirt, the frescoes are still magnificent and the colors still rich and vibrant. No pictures allowed though. Bummer.

Once we left the crypt, we headed up a flight of marble stairs to enter the Duomo itself. Holy cow. I'll let these next few pictures speak for themselves.

The Music Room... look at that ceiling!

The height of this cathedral was amazing.

The pulpit, sculpted by Nicolo Pisano.

Pretty amazing, right?

After the Duomo, Jodi took us into the Museum next door to the Duomo, where we took a look at some of the original statues (which have been removed and replaced by copies for preservation purposes). We were then free to break for lunch, but some of decided to climb up to the top of the unfinished façade next to the museum (it was originally going to be a new "arm" of the cathedral) and see Siena spread out below us. It was so worth the wait. The first picture in this post is one I took from the rooftop, but here a couple more.

Jodie, with the unfinished facade behind her.

Siena :)

I'm on the roof!

We hurried on downstairs after this and headed off to find Piazzo del Campo (the piazza in front of the 1300s town hall). We got an amazing tour of Palazzo Pubblico (the town hall itself) from Jodi and Gail, where I saw so much gold and marble that I thought my eyeballs would fall out. I have never been so wide-eyed for so long. There's some truly incredible stuff in there and Jodi and Gail both know so much!

We didn't get to spend terribly long inside Palazzo Pubblico, we had another town to hit up! On our way back to the bus, we stopped and got to try these powdered sugar cookies that Siena is famous for. I have no idea what they were, but they were delicious. I also had gelato (the streak goes on!), chocolate and vanilla-chocolate chip today. We got back on our bus and headed over to Greve in Chianti for the Greve Wine Festival. It was just as good as it sounds. I now have a commemorative wine glass, a new favorite wine, and a pamphlet for the villa that one of the (very cute) vendors invited me to come visit. All in all, a pretty great day.

Tomorrow is a free day and a few of us are going to the beach! Should be a lot of fun. I'm excited to see the Mediterranean!