Croatia Pics, Parentals, and Budapest!

Before coming abroad, I thought I would have way more time to write novels on this blog but that is definitely not how it is. Also, posting some pics from Croatia that I did not put with the last post!!

Krka National Park -- amazing

Beautiful sunset

Gabs and I on the island-hopping boat tour!!

CROATIA I LOVE YOU

White water rafting… Such a good time. Also don't worry, Justin isn't getting hit in the face!!

Studying abroad has been absolutely fantastic, but the best weekend so far was when my parents were here. I can't imagine spending a more perfect weekend with them.

Wednesday they arrived and I walked over to their hotel after class. Little did I know that this hotel was well hidden and had to pull out my phone and text Dad, asking him to call out the window to me. I heard a "Squirrel!" and looked up to see both of my parents leaning their heads out of the window waving at me. They already looked like naturals in Florence! After our wonderful reunion, we walked around Florence a little and then got drinks and snacks at a restaurant in Piazza della Signoria.

Thursday, we met up after class and then went to Fiesole. A beautiful town located just 15 minutes away from Florence in the hills! The views were great and it was really nice to escape the mass crowds of Florence for the afternoon. Thursday night, I headed home but explained to my parents how to get to my house for dinner and they mastered the bus system (again, such naturals!). Barbara cooked a FEAST! We started with crustini -- breads topped with an arrangement of liver, cheese, mushrooms, and sausage and fried in olive oil -- and then had pasta with bolognese sauce. The pasta was handmade by Barbara's friend and it was amazing. Wow. Every meal I turn to Barbara and thank her so generously for the food she's made and mention how I haven't eaten anything so delicious in my entire life and then the next night, the food is even better. Thank god I've been running and working out (sometimes)… Anyways, salmon with spinach and pork slices followed and then we had a chocolate pear cake for dessert. Dad looked at me every time Barbara brought out a new dish and asked if there was more coming. Welcome to a traditional Italian home! THE FEAST IS FANTASTIC

My beautiful mama with me in Fiesole!

Okay, enough about food. The dinner was so great but just being able to sit there with my two families and enjoy the moment was probably the best part. It didn't matter that my parents know no Italian (besides grazie and bambino -- Dad's favorite word to use when describing absolutely anything that's less than 10 years old) and it was totally fine that I was the translator and butchered probably every sentence. Everyone had a wonderful time and we were all laughing and getting to know each other. I am so grateful for this experience to be living here with Barbara, Tommaso, and Andrea and am even more grateful that they opened their home to my visiting parents so we could all spend time together.

My two families

Friday, I woke up and met my parents after their Florence tour. We walked around, got gelato (Mom goes for the cookies flavor, Dad the cherry), and then headed back to their hotel after exploring some more. Dinner was in Piazza Santo Spirito and was amazing. I had a steak salad and Mom had pasta with asparagus and a cream sauce. Dad was the vulture and played clean up. But I also introduced them to the typical Italian appetizer of cantaloupe with prosciutto. It's the best combination of sweet and salty -- please try it if you haven't already because your life will be changed. I then caught the bus home and slept for 14 hours in a food coma.

Pesto from lunch 

Saturday, we toured the Uffizi and the Accademia. WOW! The Uffizi was really cool but I liked the Accademia better because a) the tour was shorter and more focused, b) statues are really cool and marble is awesome, c) Michelangelo's unbelievable talent and entire life story is so interesting and d) David is my favorite thing about Florence. I remember my art history professor last year continually explaining how David resembles the "ideal man" and I certainly agree -- he's beautiful. After gawking at the statue, we snapped some selfies and then let him be. We caught dinner at Trattoria Casalinga, I had a spinach fritatta, Mom had pesto spaghetti, Dad had tortellini with ham. Molto buono

Mom and I before the tour :)

Sunday we spent the entire day together. We visited Piazza Michelangelo, Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, Forte Belvedere, and Ponte Vecchio. Then, we headed back to the hotel and all three of us bought a bottle of wine to drink on the balcony. I loved spending time just catching up with them and watching the sunset over the city. It was a wonderful evening :) We then got our last meal together at Le Carrozze and it was so good. I had this calzone with meat and cheese in it but the bread was like a pastry and super flaky and fresh. Delicious! All in all, a FABULOUS time spent with the parents. I am so happy that they were able to come visit me in my temporary Florence home and I cannot wait to see them again in December!!

Daddyo and I on the Ponte Vecchio!

That following week, I had my finals for Italian 1. Yes, despite all that's going on, sometimes I forget I am here to study and pass classes and earn units. Everything went well and we are now into level 2! Woohoo! I also had my first dream in Italian. I wish this meant I was on my way to becoming fluent but I remember waking up from the dream and not understanding what had happened at all….

Two days later, I was on my way to BUDAPEST! What a great trip that was! I loved Budapest because it was clean, so beautiful, and a city with lots of greenery and parks. I've definitely missed that around Florence. Some parts of Budapest even had a bit of a San Francisco feel to them -- it was nice to be reminded of California. We also lucked out this past weekend because the weather was perfect and there was a festival going on that featured all sorts of traditional Hungarian foods. My weekend diet consisted of: fried bread (tasted like funnel cake…) topped with nutella fondue and bananas, strawberries, and almonds; sausage and chicken with veggie kabobs; sweet bread topped with olive oil and sugar that was roasted over a fire and then smothered in fondue. Some of the best food I've had. Also, the thermal baths were really cool! It was so relaxing to go and sit in the 85 degree pool and then lay out on a chair for a while. Now I know why everyone says Budapest is a must-see because I certainly agree. The only downside was the 13 hour bus ride to get there but at least we had some DVDs :)

ALAS! This weekend we are going to Pisa/Lucca with the school and then some of us are going to Perugia on Saturday for the annual chocolate festival. I plan on eating no breakfast so I can just have chocolate for all three meals

Mama and her mini-me. Love this

Also, I have joined a yoga studio here for the next two months! It's a pretty good deal for students and the studio is located really close to school. They teach in both Italian and English, so I feel like it will help me pick up some of the language as well. I've only been to two classes so far so more to come with this!

Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all xoxo

Getting stuck in an elevator with 13 Italians and Croatia

Last week, Kelly visited. Kelly was the first host student that Barbara, Tommasso, and Andrea had two years ago. She brought her cousin Lindsay and they were in Florence for a couple of days before going up to Venice to meet their parents. Tommasso took all of us out for aperitivo on Sunday evening. We all had drinks and the appetizers there were amazing…. Melon and prosciutto, bruschetta, little sandwiches, cold cut meats, and various other snacks that were fantastic but I still have no idea exactly what they were.

The views from the aperitivo were fantastic! We were on the roof restaurant of a very nice hotel in the center of the city. It was so great to be able to practice my italian with Tommasso's friends and also so nice to have the opportunity to meet new people. Afterwards, we went to a fantastic pizzeria where we ordered some pizzas for the group -- margherita, melanzane con parmeggiano, and ham.

Sidenote - casually got stuck in a tiny elevator on our way down from the aperitivo. There were 13 of us crammed into the elevator and we all knew immediately that we were in trouble when we heard a clunking sound and then nothing at all…. Got pretty frightening pretty quickly but was funny in the end. I don't think I'll be taking an elevator for a while though because that was SPOOKY

CROATIA! Wowza. So the following weekend (after an Italian midterm and a writing a paper proposal….. it sucks when 'studying abroad' actually includes studying), a few of us went to Croatia with the program FlorenceforFun. It was AWESOME! I now know exactly where I want to retire when I am old enough to financially support myself and a lifestyle in Split, Croatia.

Taking the overnight bus there was a struggle and eleven hours is quite a long time. However, it was totally worth it. Friday morning, we had breakfast when we arrived in Split and then had a walking tour. The walking tour was great because it was only about one hour and told me everything I wanted to know about Split. We saw the big attractions and then were on our way! Friday afternoon, we went white water rafting. It wasn't anything too crazy but it was such a good time. Our instructor was hilarious and had the driest sense of humor. Saturday, we got up and went on an island-hopping boat tour. The weather was perfect and the day was fantastic. We were able to swim in the ocean and lunch was so delicious. Sunday morning, we got up and drove to Krka national park. We couldn't swim in the waterfalls because the rain had been too much recently but we were able to snap some pretty cool pictures. This place was insane and looked like the inside of a national geographic book.

This week, we had an oral presentation in Italian and then a quiz. My paper proposal was accepted (which is a good sign), and my parents are here!! YES! Today I showed them around some parts of the city and tomorrow we are going to Fiesole and then they are coming here for dinner.

Sorry no pics on this post but there will be some on the next!