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!

Tuscany, Assisi, and some great wine

Ciao!

Alright so things have been pretty busy around here! Let's see where I left off.

Last week we had class on Friday and then I went over to my friends' apartment in the center of the city. We all hung out there for a while and then headed to Di Vina -- a wine shop where you bring in an empty bottle and they fill it up with your choice of wine…… It's amazing. Most people end up buying the 2-liter bottle and then bringing it back for refills.

Wonderful place

Some of the wine 

Dog we saw sitting in front of its owner's shop… So popular in Florence to see this!

Artwork on the "Do Not Enter" signs all over Florence

On Saturday, we took a class trip to Siena and San Gimignano, two very cute Tuscan cities. In Siena, we took a tour and then were left with some time to get lunch (a panino) and explore on our own. Siena was fantastic, but about 2 hours into the 2 1/2 hour tour my stomach was growling so loud that it was a distraction for everyone. The views in Siena were amazing and the city center is gorgeous. It is shaped like a shell and there is an annual horse race every July in the center. There are different families throughout the city, represented by various animals, and ten jockeys and horses are chosen every year randomly to compete against each other. The race apparently lasts about 90 seconds and the jockey usually gets thrown off, so it is basically a race between the horses. The center is PACKED! We saw some pictures and I cannot imagine how unique that weekend is in the city. San Gimignano was my favorite city, though, because it was a little smaller but also because it is home to a "world-famous" gelato shop. Not sure if it is really world-famous but I didn't really care. I got mint and chocolate hazelnut. The chocolate hazelnut was pretty good but the MINT!! THE MINT!! It tasted like it was right out of a garden. Kind of weird at first and definitely different but it had such a refreshing taste. I almost went back for seconds. Good thing I didn't because Meaghan (my travel buddy!) and I ended up walking around and exploring only to find ourselves in the middle of an Italian wedding. We walked into a church (the doors were open and no one stopped us…) to be witnessing the end of the ceremony. We looked at the famous frescoes on the walls for a bit and then decided to go into the courtyard of the church where we saw the priest smoking. That was interesting… maybe he was stressed from giving the wedding ceremony? Who knows. We decided to walk back out the church only to notice that we were walking through a crowd of people with instruments lining up……wait what? We scampered down the steps and then about two minutes after, the bride and groom walked out the same way and the band started playing. AND CONFETTI WAS EVERYWHERE! It was so fun. About 8 people from our program came up to us afterwards (including our academic director…) and asked how we had gotten into the wedding.

Siena centro

Il Duomo in Siena

Usually the ground is covered in the Siena Duomo but it isn't for a few months of the year… we got lucky! Beautiful marble

English bulldog in Siena…. shout out to Dad!!

Siena!

Love

GELATO

Cheese on cheese on cheese

Thought mom would appreciate this chicken pitcher

Wedding fun!!

Tuscan hills

Sunday morning, I woke up and threw my clothes in the washing machine (it had been 16 days since I had done any laundry) and worked on some homework. Then, Tomasso came home and took Carol and me to a wine tasting festival in Chianti! MAMMA MIA! The wine here is incredible. We met three of Tomasso's friends and had a great time with them all and then finished the evening with some sandwiches and a meat/cheese platter. We chose some sort of salted salami and then bull and wild boar. The bull was incredible. I am still learning how a country can have such insane food choices that never seem to disappoint my taste buds. Barbara has yet to cook a dish that I don't really like. This week, we've had pesto pasta with a breaded meat, spaghetti with garlic and cheese, some sort of pork with ham wrapped inside (heavenly), minestrone soup... the list goes on and on. Dinner is easily my favorite part of the day because I get to sit and catch up with everyone while eating some of the best food I have ever had.

This week has been pretty normal so far! We had a quiz in Italian on Wednesday and we've started brainstorming for our 10-page paper that we have to write for our History of Food class. Usually I dread writing a paper but my professor has been really open about ideas and very helpful. There was a bus strike on Wednesday -- the first one of the semester -- and the buses were only operating from 6-9am and then from 11-3pm. I got out of class at 3:30 and walked home, expecting there to be no buses anywhere, but I counted about eight on my way back. Is that how bus strikes work or am I completely missing something? Maybe that's how strikes work in Italy…

I've been running most evenings along the Arno where there are some nice trails and parks to run through. The runs have been great! Oh except for the fact that I swallow an average of four bugs every run and a few also make their way into my eye. Also, there's a bridge I run under that's in a quieter area of the Arno. The other evening, there was a couple sitting together enjoying the view of the river and enjoying the peaceful moment. I thought it was so cute and didn't want to disturb them until I tripped on a metal thing that was sticking out of the gravel and completely ate it behind them. Mi scusa!!

Today, Meaghan, Gabi, and I went to Assisi! A very cute city that is about 2 1/2 hours southeast of Florence. It was beautiful! Such a quiet town with some big churches, and it was nice to get away from tourists for the day. We took the train this morning and got to Assisi around 10:30. Thank goodness there was an information booth there with maps and bus tickets because without it, I'm not sure what we would have ended up doing… We took the bus to the top of the city's hill and made our way throughout the entire place -- we visited about four huge churches with frescoes and all sorts of tombs (including St. Francesco!) and then grabbed lunch at a cute little cafe, followed by gelato (duh). After exploring for a couple more hours, we snagged the train back home -- only to return to Florence to find out we had missed the craziest hail storm of the year. There was still piles of hail on the streets and we didn't really know what had happened until we got back to our houses. This happens pretty rarely but the hail was the size of large grapes… a ton of trees fell down and cars were smashed. Glad we missed that storm

Bench?

Duck slippers!! 13 euro but I might have to return to Assisi just for them...

Cute Italian stairs

Exploring in Assisi

Random picture in front of Santa Croce, Florence

Cinque Terre from three weeks ago

Cannot believe it is already almost October!

Week TWO

Buongiorno! Happy Wednesday!!

I was walking to the bus stop this morning and tried to think of what I had done yesterday and on Monday and realized that all of the days are starting to blend together which can only mean one thing…. time is absolutely FLYING by. It's frightening. I can't believe I have already been here for 10 days!

Sunday morning I woke up at 10:30 (much to Barbara's surprise), chowed down some breakfast (the normal Special K with yogurt and a banana), and went with Carol to the bus stop. We wanted to go to the Uffizi but, once we got there, realized that it is still tourist season and the place was packed. So instead, we went to the Palazzo Pitti. This palace used to house the grand-dukes of Tuscany (almost wrote ducks) and later the King of Italy. Needless to say, this place is massive!! There are several museums inside and Carol and I only got through two in our three hours there. Also, out back, there are the Boboli Gardens that stretch 11 acres. I can't imagine growing up in that palace and having 11 acres to run around in… The place is beautiful! However, it was about 90 degrees outside with some crazy humidity so Carol and I didn't stay outside long.

One of the artifacts

Another artifact

Another artifact…. All of the artifacts are NOT animal related. Don't know why I only took pictures of these ones...

Outside in the Boboli Gardens

Ducks in the fountain!

Posing with a bush

Of course, after our museum visit, we just had to get some lunch.

Gustapizza from Gusta Pizza

Monday was our third day of Italian class and my first culture class! Italian is going really well. I love learning a new language and being able to see how I've improved throughout the week. I went into the grocery store this afternoon and was able to have a quick conversation with the baker in Italian! I also got really lost in the city without a map and was able to find my way to the bus stop by asking shop owners where I was. Hooray!! Slowly but surely learning the language

The cutest little cupcake my friend got 

My culture class, the History and Culture of Italian Food, is going to be a good one. Our professor is a German man, Dr. Fischer, who believes in punctuality and getting everything done efficiently and quick. It's great. I'm really excited to learn about the origin of traditional Italian food and how the normal 'meal' has changed throughout the past generations. Today, our second day of class, we took a 'food tour' of the city and walked around, visiting some hole-in-the-wall places that look fantastic. We also had a blind test of Italian food! I had no idea what to expect but have been really proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone, especially when it comes to food. Can anyone guess what it is? Strange texture but probably the most tender meat I have ever had.

Professor getting the goods ready for the blind taste test

The mystery meat!!

It's called lampredotto! The fourth stomach of the cow (quarto stomaco della mucca). Apparently you can also eat the first and second stomachs but the third isn't eaten. Once everyone had tried it, Dr. Fischer offered up seconds and you can bet I volunteered. Speaking of branching out food-wise, Barbara toasted pieces of bread and put 'crustini' on it -- a type of ground up meat that is placed on the top with some formaggio. I didn't want to ask exactly what meat it was until after I had eaten it. The texture was definitely different (super finely chopped) and in the end, it was cow liver. I have absolutely zero clue if people eat this a lot in the United States but I have never eaten it before. Woohoo for studying abroad!!

We also visited the Mercato Centrale today on our walking tour. This is an indoor market that has all sorts of vendors with all sorts of food. Here is a pic I snapped of some meat hanging off of whatever contraption that is….. Also if you zoom in, the hooves are still on the leg of the animal. Talk about knowing exactly how fresh your food is and where it came from

Tuesday night I hiked to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo with my friends Gaston and Kevin. This is a hill in Florence that overlooks the entire city. There was an acoustic guitar player singing in the middle of the square and so many people were sitting and listening to him while watching the sunset. It was nice to see everyone pause and just really enjoy the moment. I think that's what I've liked most about Florence -- it's such a different vibe. People are okay with being disconnected from the rest of the world and aren't on their phones 24/7. No one is rushing through crowds or pushing others aside just to get somewhere first. Even on the bus today, there was an older woman trying to get on with her groceries and three other passengers eagerly walked up to her to help her. At dinner, we don't eat and then immediately leave the table; instead, we will sit there for another half an hour laughing about the day's events or talking with each other and catching up. It is so refreshing to be surrounded by this feeling of serenity all throughout the city!

The VIEW

 

Hi

I also had my first gelato yesterday!! I had waited a week to see what places people really liked and turns out the cheapest place so far is right around the corner from school! This could get bad very quickly. Anyways, you can get a cone with two scoops for 1.90 euro... I REPEAT 1.90 EURO. That is cheaper than any panino or pizza I have gotten so far. Also, the mint flavor was superb and I got it with stracciatella -- the chocolate chip ice cream. Yeah, yeah, I know I always eat mint and everyone thinks I'm so boring for going into a gelato shop with 22 flavors and I pick mint and chocolate chip?! But I did and it was heavenly. I'll force myself to try other flavors but the mint is always my fave and I have zero shame

Gelato! On probably the hottest day so far… Perfect combination

This morning we were woken up at 6:10am by booming thunder and lightning. It was kind of fun being snuggled in bed listening to it until I realized that a) I couldn't fall back asleep because of the noise and b) this would mean going to school in the pouring rain. Oh well. Thank you mother dearest for convincing met to bring an umbrella with me so I would have it right when I got here! Thankfully on the walk from the bus stop to school, it stopped pouring and I snapped a quick pic of the river on Ponte Vecchio. So pretty. Also shout out to Sheridan who immediately responded to my text of "Holy cow thunderstorm!" with "WHOA HOLD ON TO YA TROUSERS!!!" Love it.

Whoa nelly

In other news, the bug bites have been insane. Here is my leg after waking up on Monday morning. There are no screens on our windows so you either sleep in the heat or surrender to the mosquito masses. Luckily, I am not alone… All the other Californians are suffering too.

Ah

 I will end this post with these great words of wisdom I passed by today….

Hope everyone is doing well. Xoxoxo ciao!