Here's to the Nights We Felt Alive

Okay, cheesiest last blog heading ever. WHATEVER. It’s a good song and is a perfectly adequate title. Sorry, I’m not sorry. Unfortunately for you and for me, a final blog post means that it’s all come to an end. And just like that, the semester is gone. It’s been a good while since I’ve last written, but I cannot express to you in words just how jam packed my life has been since then. Never a dull moment. Even the ones where nothing was happening were anything but boring. As I sit here on the 8 hour 25 minute plane ride back to New York City, New York, United States of America, I’ll take you on an adventure--my adventure--back in time.

Post-Jacobs Fam Reunion & Pompei Peni….On to Elena’s Visit & Greece

So as you know, after a stressful and tiring fun and exciting week with the Jacobs clan, I took a little trip with my school down to the dirty souf to Pompei and Sorrento. Recap: Big Lemons and some representation of a penis everywhere (pl. Peni, pronounced PEE-nahy). Two weekends later, I went on another school trip to the small towns of Arezzo and Cortona. If you are ever visiting Toscana, please go see these little treasures. Both very small, quaint towns, you feel as if you’re actually in Italy instead of the tourist bubble that makes up my beloved Firenze. (Another SUPER tiny town to check out if you have time-Rignano sull'Arno.) Not much else to say besides I enjoyed these towns very much so, and I would love to stay at a little B&B there if I ever got the chance to go back.

Another week off, then the following week a good friend of mine, Elena, came with a friend I met in Spain, Maddie, and the 3 of us had a field day soaking up the city. I acted as tour guide, and I have to say, I think I did a pretty darn good job. Just ask Elena & Maddie. Tour guiding skills=GOLDEN. Basically a lot of sightseeing and a LOT of eating. Probably had gelato and pizza 300 times in the span of 4 days. So thank you, ladies, for making the impossible task of getting sick of these 2 food items close to being possible. The weekend was such a blast, and I was more than sad to see them go. But such is life, c'est la vie.

Corfu, Greece aka SHUTTER ISLAND

Please tell me you’ve seen the movie or read the book Shutter Island with the “like a fine wine-only gets better with age” Leonardo DiCaprio. If not, go see/read it. I know some people thought it was predictable (cough Bree cough), but I thought it was thoroughly entertaining. Anyway, the gist of the story: there’s some doctor dude and you can’t get off the creepy island. Gist of my weekend: there’s some doctor dude and you can’t get off the creepy island. Freaky, huh? I now have a comment to make that I will back up 100%, and I hope you all take heed to it. The Florence based company Florence for Fun (FFF) is quite possibly the WORST company ever. Don’t ever give them any of your money, and if you have loved ones make sure they stay away from them at all costs. This is not a joke, people. If you could see my face right now, you would see that I am anything but smiling. SO, FFF was the fabulous reason my friends and I were getting to go to Corfu. It was advertised as a 2-day cruise for travel and 3-night stay in Greece. I don’t have a dictionary available in my back pocket at all times, so I’m not really sure what the definition for “cruise” is, but I’m preeeeetty sure it’s nothing along the lines of “every obnoxious American studying abroad crammed into one room where you have to sleep in airplane style seats for 24 hours.” But please, correct me if I’m mistaken. After the 5 hour bus ride to Ancona, then the “cruise” from Ancona to Greece, then a 20 minute hike to a ferry, then a 2 hour ferry, and finally another 30 minute bus ride to Corfu, I was a little tired of this trip already. BUT after all that, we were finally in Greece, and so life really couldn’t be all that bad. When we arrived at The Pink Palace (I can’t call it a hostel or a hotel ‘cause I don’t really know what you’d call it…a brothel maybe?) we threw our bags down in the nasty room and went straight to the beach. If you want to imagine what this place was like, picture that there was a massive pepto bismol explosion and everything, I mean eh-vry-thing, was pink. I love pink just as much if not more than the next guy, but this was pink overload. Also, I know that countries that aren’t the U.S. are a little slack on their safety and health codes, but this was a joke. Elevated wooden walkways with no railings next to the concrete pool area perfect for drunk kids to fall off of, slippery slopes, lots of stairs, a hot tub which I’m pretty sure was breeding every STD out there, and so on. But what can you do in a situation like that? Laugh. So we tried to do just that. When it came time to get lunch, we were dying to get some Gyros with delicious tzaziki, saganaki, and some souvlaki. We wanted legit, authentic Greek food, and judging by the looks of this place, the Pink Palace was not where we were going to get it. So we trekked all the way up the hill to reception to ask where a local restaurant in the town was. This is where it gets weird. The woman at the desk said, “Oh, well at this time everything’s still closed since it’s before Easter, so the best food you’re going to get is down at our Poolside Café.” UHHH, okay? Maybe it was the creepy tone she said it in, but trust me, it was bizarre. So we went back down to the poolside café and asked for some gyros. What’s that you said creepy cook? You’re out of gyros? Oh, great. Well in that case, give me whatever else you have that’s remotely similar to food. To add to the creepy factor, everyone was Australian. Now wait a minute before you take that the wrong way and let me explain. When you’re in Greece, you expect some of the staff members, at least ONE of the staff members, to be Greek. Also, the head woman at FFF was Australian. Coincidence? I think not. When we asked for a poolside drink, the head creepy creeper, a 50+ year old woman who had mischief in her eyes, attempted to take our order. We asked for a mojito and a margarita. Pretty simple. “We don’t have those things.” Okay, well lemme just take a peek at your OWN drink menu which is at YOUR bar. After requesting 3 different drinks off the list, Creeptown goes “Yeah, I wouldn’t look at that list. You're not gonna have much luck.” Well then why the hell is it at your bar?? Just plain odd. So I finally say, “Well, what CAN you give me?” And like Shutter Island where they try to make you think you have a choice when you really don’t, Creepy McCreeper says to us, “Well do you like vodka? We have vodka. Here we have a really good vodka drink. Try this. It’s the Blue Lagoon. There you go. That’ll be 5 euro.” Whatever, lady. I’ll take your stupid drink. Not because I like either you or the drink, but because I want to get as far away from you as possible ASAP. Oh, also, on one of the drink machines there was a handmade sign that said, “Want Sex?” No. I don’t actually. But thanks? It was the little things like that, and the fact that there were posters with “Dr. George wants YOU at the Pink Palace!” that put together the ambience of The Pink Palace. Who is this mysterious Dr. George and why does he want ME? These are questions to which the answers are ones I will never know. We headed down to the beach and actually started to enjoy ourselves somewhat. Laying on a lawn chair, soaking in the sun is one of my best skills. But of course, all good things must come to an end, and we were rudely interrupted by a group of 30 loud, drunk, obnoxious kids from California. Think Frat Real Frat (but not in the good way like Rome tour guide Maurizio) and girls with bathing suits that looked more like a couple pieces of cloth and string. Needless to say, these kids were LOVING every moment of Barnum and Bailey’s Trashiest Place on Earth. One of the bros made sure to drunkenly yell loud enough (in reference to my friends and I) “I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE ARE SO TAME. LIKE, YOU CAN TAN AND SLEEP BACK HOME. LET’S RAGE!” Yeah, dudebra, you can also get wasted at 11am and act like an idiot back home, too, but you don’t hear me making any comments, do you? Oh, and tell your girlfriend to get a bathing suit that’s at least 3x bigger (what is that, a bathing suit for ants?? Zoolander reference, anyone?) That night, there was a dance party at the Palladium, so everyone went to that. I love to dance with my ladies, and we surprisingly had a great time. Don’t tell Creepy Ferguson that I actually liked something about her stupid place. The next day, pretty much the same thing, except my friends and I who weren’t into the whole "be wasted 24/7 and stay only at the PP" thing decided to disregard receptionist’s advice and take a cab into town for dinner. Best. Decision. Ever. Remember when the lady told us that everything was closed? FALSE. Remember when she told us that the best gyros we were going to get were at the PP poolside café? FALSE. Everything had been a lie, and we had figured them out. Nice try, Pink Palace. We walked around, shopped, saw the cute sights of Corfu City, and got dinner. After dinner, we struggled to force ourselves to get a cab back to that Hell hole in time for the Toga party. Yeah, gag me now. I don’t want to wear your stupid, ugly pink piece of cloth and call it a toga. Yeah, I heard what happened here once. One of the staff pulled off some girl’s toga out of nowhere and the whole place got a view they didn’t pay for. I plan to be thoroughly covered underneath my toga in case of any “incidents” like the former. One of my best friends Bree was turning 21 that night at midnight, and try as hard as we could, there was no way we could make that hot mess of a toga party into something enjoyable and fun. So Bree, Lizzie, and I decided to head back to the room to eat some baklava we had bought earlier that day and just enjoy each other’s company chatting. NICE. What went on at the PP that night while we attempted to sleep in our rooms, I have no idea, but I don’t wanna know. The next morning, Lizzie, Bree and I decided to get up early and spend some more time in town. It was Easter Sunday, and of course the receptionist told us everything was going to be closed and people were going to be in church all morning. What she failed to tell us was that this was completely not true because there were parades and processions throughout the streets, tons of people out and about with their families, and even most of the shops and restaurants were open. We got there just in time because the Greek Orthodox Church had this incredible procession right in front of us complete with drummers, trumpets, and funny looking fuzzy hats. I’m obviously not Greek Orthodox, but the whole experience was so neat and really touching in a way. After that, the three of us got lunch at this low key place that had lamb roasting over a fire out front, and holy Easter Bunny, this was the best Greek food I’ve ever had in my life. Now THAT’S what you call authentic gyros and souvlaki. The owner of the restaurant was so nice and really funny. Basically, this was the Greece that I had come to see and experience, and it was so amazing that I could (almost) forgive all the trouble that the PP had given me. After spending a couple hours on a beautiful day walking around Corfu City, we took a cab back to the PP to get ready to leave. Don’t worry, even the whole event of leaving was miserable. Completely unorganized and our bus driver rolled our bus into the bus behind us. It’s not like I thought I was gonna die or anything. The travel was the same on the way back, except this time we forked over 20 euro each to get a room for the overnight “cruise”. Best 20 euro I ever spent. And with that, Greece was over. Luckily we made it out alive and unbrainwashed, but I don’t think some others faired so well. Moral of the story kids: If you’re looking for a place to be super trashy and get wasted, but you still want people to accept and encourage you, you know where to go.

Twenty-FUN!

Had a large home cooked 21^st birthday meal with all of my friends at my apartment, then went out for legal-in-every-country drinking and dancing. Birthday in ITALY. There’s not much else to say. Oh, except that I did manage to make it out the next morning for wine tasting at the Count’s estate up in the Chianti Hills, not looking too shabby either. Best birthday present ever? Getting to hold a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn signed by MARK TWAIN himself. What will the Count come up with next?

Festivale d’Europa, Notte Bianca, and Notte Blu

What Florence lacked in cute Italian boys wanting to be my boyfriend, it definitely made up in cool festivals. As if the 150^th Unification Anniversary wasn’t enough, we had 3 more really awesome events that took over the city. Each of these three things were nights of free concerts, exhibits, live music, and just an all around good time. The best part about these nights, all of the Italians come out. The even better part about these nights, all of the extremely beautiful Italian MEN come out. Jackpot. My friends and I wandered around the city, enjoying all that i notti had to offer.

Ma, look! No Hands!

I’ve always said I wanted a vespa, and one of my goals for the semester was to either drive one by myself or ride on the back of one with a hot Italian guy. Regardless of what my mother and my Aunt Linda told me about never riding a vespa because they’re “dangerous,” I still just had to do it. My 3 friends and I signed up for a vespa riding tour in the Tuscan hills complete with lunch and wine tasting afterwards. I can without doubt say this was one of the top 3 best experiences of my entire life. There’s nothing like steadily climbing up a hill, speed under your control, wind blowing your hair, and seeing nothing but the beautiful green hills of the countryside in front of you. Absolutely breathtaking. However, I can’t say that I was a vespa pro at first. I was a bit nervous because if you don’t know much about me, you should know that I’m not one for rigorous physical activities or things involving speed and possible crashing/dying. Our vespa guide, Niccolo, picked us up and drove us out to the farm. To get a feel for Niccolo, think Quagmire from Family Guy mixed with Borat but the extremely happy-go-lucky version. Every other word was “Al-right!” We were just waiting until one of those “al-rights!” was followed by a “giggity giggity”.  We went on the practice track to get a feel for our vespas. Not only did I accidently drive into the woman in front of me, once we started going, everyone made sure to give me a clearance space of about 30 feet in all directions. I was wobbling all over the place, crashed into a tree, nearly broke off the side view mirror, and was either going too fast or too slow. Niccolo pulled me aside for a “pep talk,” but really all I heard was blah blah blah. I knew I could do it, I just hadn’t gotten into the LJ swing of things yet. I got a little better, and he asked me if I was ready to go out on the road for the tour. I said yes. Not really sure how much I believed myself, but oh well. You gotta do what you gotta do. Once I hit the pavement, it was a piece of Italian creme cake. My friends and I were at the front the whole time full-speed enjoying every moment of it. So what if my arms were already sore after 10 minutes from holding on so tight, my palms were sweating, and I was getting a blister from trying too hard to rev the gas? I was riding a vespa in Italy, and that’s all that matters. We stopped in a small town for a cappuccino, then it was back on the road. Niccolo, who could ride a vespa in his sleep, was turned around taking a video of us riding. My friend Nicole was directly behind him, and I saw her wave to the camera. Then Lizzie was 2^nd in line, and she waved to the camera as well. Well, of course I wanted to wave to the camera, too, but as I brought my hand up, mid-wave I lost my balance and almost ran off the road and DIED. I can only imagine how ridiculous my face must have looked as I saw my life flash before my eyes. But it’s cool, I pulled it together and didn’t crash or die. However, I can’t say that my cool factor didn’t crash and die that day. I hoped maybe he had stopped filming by that point, but when I asked later on he only laughed and confirmed my worst nightmare. Don’t be surprised if you see a Youtube video of “Funny Girl on Vespa” on your Facebook newsfeed or circulating through your work e-mail. Only a few more close-calls and even a couple of tricks later, the riding was over. But right before the very end, Niccolo pointed out to his left, and the view was absolutely stunning---fields and fields of red poppies completely covering the ground. That image, which lasted only a split second, will always be forever ingrained in my mind. Then we had a delicious lunch and a nice wine tasting, after which Niccolo took us back to Florence. What a satisfying and rewarding day.

“You are too cute. Isn’t she just so cute?”

One afternoon when my friends and I were hanging out in Santo Spirito, we met these two chefs who taught cooking classes every day. I had been wanting to take a cooking class at some point anyway, but the part that really sold the deal? I FINALLY MET PAULO. Okay, well his name was actually Andrea, but kid you not, I’ve met my soulmate. He might have been a little older than me, but he was Italian, cute, and knew how to cook. IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS. So we all decided to sign up for Chef Giovanni’s cooking class, accompanied by his assistant Andrea. When the day finally came, the three of us were very excited. It would’ve been nice to have a private class, but instead we got a class of 20 consisting of old touristy Americans. Oh well, I guess that only made the 3 of us look more like hot babes. Giovanni was in love with my friend Lizzie and constantly asked, “Isn’t she just so cute?” which he eventually asked others about me, too. Yeah, I’d say I’m just so cute. Why not? Well, while Lizzie wrote down the Tiramisu recipe, Nicole and I made sure to keep an eye on the guy in the kitchen we would’ve liked to get our ladyfingers on. Apparently we were doing something right because Andrea asked the three of us for our help in the kitchen. What was the impossible task he needed our help on? Toasting bread. Mmmmhmmmm ‘cause that’s such a difficult job for a professional chef, Andrea. We see what you’re up to, and I can’t say that I don’t like it. But, like any good student, we alsomade sure to pay attention to the actual cooking part of the class. All in all, we made our own bruschetta, eggplant sandwich, ragu sauce, handmade pasta, and tiramisu. Everything was absolutely delicious! Mom & Dad, if you’re nice to me when I get back I just might whip you up the same meal. Phillip and Rel, tough luck. When the class was over and the Cooking Academy certificate was in hand, we started to leave. We hoped to get asked out for that evening since we were celebrating Lizzie and Nicole’s 21^st birthdays, but no. Oh well, at least things left off on a good note. Andrea-I’m comin’ back for you, so watch out.

With a lot of packing, a lot of cleaning, and a lot of goodbyes, that leads me to here. I have yet to cry because I don’t think I’ve yet grasped the situation. It seems like this is just another weekend trip and then it’s back to Via dei Cerchi to hang out with my friends in front of the Duomo. Or at the Boboli Gardens. Or Mayday. Or Santo Spirito. It’s been a whirlwind of 4 months, and I honestly can’t believe it’s over. There’s about 30 minutes between me and NYC, and I don’t know what to do with myself. So what better to do than write to y’all and reflect back on one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. Italia and all you readers out there, you’ve been good to me. Thanks for an amazing semester. Ciao ragazzi! Baci!

Italian Highlights

Siena Duomo

Treats from the Chocolate Festival at Santa Croce

Locks on a Bridge in Verona-Symbolizes a Couple's Love

Verona in Love Festival

Pic Taken for My Photographing Florence Class

Florentine Futbol Game

Maurizio-FRF tour guide

LAOCOON

Trevi Fountain

Go Italy

Cruisin' Madrid with Elena

View from the Rialto Bridge-Venezia

Gondola Ride

Ponte Vecchio Lit Up for Italy's 150th Anniversary Celebration of Unification

Enjoying a Waffle With the Broski

Sorrento

Check Out THOSE Lemons!

Sorrento

Brothel This Way

Cast of a Pompeian Boy

How ‘Bout That Boat Ride In? I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Sinking City.

Buongiorno principessa! It’s been un mese and time just keeps ticking on. I was asked by a certain sister of mine, “What could possibly be keeping you so busy that you don’t have time to blog??” Well, let me tell you…

To resolve those cliffhangers from the last post: Michelangelo’s David=AWESOME. It sounds silly to be in awe of a piece of rock, but Michelangelo was an absolute genius, and it’s impossible to deny that after seeing this piece of work. If there’s one guy from Florence I’d like to make mine, it’d be him. David + Lauren = 4ever.

And then came Espana. Madrid, specifically. I got to spend 3 days with my girl, Elena Callaway, and they were an awesome 3 days. The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm-I even got to wear short sleeves without a jacket. Oh how I miss that Texas heat. Blazing sun and 105 degrees never sounded so good after living in this chilly, shadowy town I call Florence. BUT, I digress. The Prado? Check. Parque de El Retiro complete with fresh strawberries and sparkling wine? Check. 4 story discotheque with acrobats and dancers with nipple tassels? Check. Massive castle of El Escorial? Check. Yup. I think I had a pretty good time my first go around in Spain. If I ever get a chance to go back, I’ll swing by Barcelona because I hear that’s a pretty poppin’ place as well.

And then there were midterms. Pass.

And then (hold on to your bikini tops, ladies and gents) SPRING BREAAAAAAK! Okay, so it wasn’t as “girls-gone-wild” as I had expected, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun. While everyone else was jet-setting all over the world, my friends Bree, Nicole, Sadie and I decided to take it easy in Florence. Plus we needed a couple days’ rest to prepare for Carnevale in Venice. Don’t know what Carnevale is like? Just watch this cheesy video that I’ve picked out for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL3db7VeCKM. Now picture that but about 500x better and THAT was my Carnevale. Monday night was eh, but Tuesday night (aka Mardi Gras, aka Fat Tuesday, aka the last night of Carnevale) was POPPIN’. We’re talking party in the streets till the break of dawn kind of party. Definitely an experience unlike any other. I had heard not so great things about Venice before I went, but they’re all wrong. Go before it sinks. No really, it’s actually sinking so you should get going on that one. Other highlight of the trip? Gondola ride. My mother’s been waiting 30 years to ride a gondola, and I did it at the ripe old age of 20…Nice. Sorry, mom.

And then there were Jacobs. 5 to be exact, 6 including yours truly. How Italy didn’t kick all of us out after a day, I have NO idea. La mia famiglia arrived Thursday and Friday of spring break. And once Stu hit the ground running, he wasn’t looking back. It was a fast-moving, jam-packed weekend, and I didn’t even do half the day trips with them. Unfortunately, someone is the bearer of bad weather, so although the weather was gorgeous before and after they left, somehow they managed to bring about rainy and cold. Non va bene. It was so much fun, though. I always have a great time with my family (with the exception of a few moments). When you’ve got your family, great food, and beautiful surroundings, what more could a girl want? All in all we saw: Siena, San Gimignano (Mom, I can hear you saying it wrong all the way from over here), Pisa, Chianti, Cinque Terre, e Roma. A word to the wise: If you can’t say “thank you” in the country’s native language, don’t attempt to continue speaking in that language. For example, the Italian word for “thank you” is grazie. It is not: grazia, grazi, graz, grits, gretz, wayne gretzky, or ANYTHING else along those lines. The guilty parties know exactly who they are. And that concludes our lesson.

And then there was Pompei/Sorrento. You know, it’s a very odd feeling to be with your whole family in another country and then everyone leaves to go back home but you. So, to ease the sorrows (or maybe at that point to celebrate?) of mia famiglia leaving, I went to the south of Italy on a school trip. 7 hour bus ride there, 7 hour bus ride back. Woof. Sorrento is beautiful and known for their limoncello. No matter how hard I try, I will never like limoncello. I do, however, like the free samples of chocolates they give you to try with that nasty yellow crap. But that one’s pretty obvious. Pompei is pretty freakin’ cool. If you’re making a trip to Italy, make sure you stop by Pompei. But you have to get a really good tour guide if you go. Ours looked like and had the humor of Alec Baldwin. Just a warning, there are peni (plural of penis) everywhere in Pompei. To them it wasn’t a vulgar thing at all, but actually an apotropaic symbol (something that wards off evil). So don’t be surprised if you see one carved in stone every 5 feet, just go with it. To them a penis is like the North Star, except instead of guiding you home, it guides you to a brothel. No seriously, they used peni like street signs. Crazy, huh? Vesuvius was also cool. Like Venice, you should go to Pompei before it’s gone, cuz that baby could blow any second, and we could have another 79 A.D. on our hands.

And then there were none. Well, at least nothing else to catch you up on. So there you go Rel-a-bel, you’re up to speed. But very quickly before you go, let’s reflect on what’s ahead. In exactly one month from today (April 27^th) I will be legal. Salute (cheers) to that! Now I can continue legally at home this bad wine habit I’ve picked up since I’ve been here. If you would like to send your regards in the form of a birthday card or better yet, a birthday package, you can send them to:

     Accademia Italiana-Lauren Jacobs

     Piazza Pitti 15, Firenze 50125 (Italia)

Also, I’ll have just come back from Corfu, Greece, which hopefully means I’ll have a rockin’ birthday tan. (Like I said, I live in the city of shadows and darkness.) And, sadly, that means I’ll have only 2 weeks remaining of my time in Florence. Seems like a lifetime away, but it’s really not. Well, I guess that just means I’ll have to get started on that bucket list. Time’s a-tickin’. Little J, out. Ciao tutti.

What's in a name? That which we call a blog by any other name would be just as long.

So, we meet again. Nearly a month has gone by since we last chatted, and who knew that just a couple of weeks could go by so fast and so slow at the same time. My long absence caused a few different responses: several of you were confused, some were worried I'd stopped blogging all together (how dare you), and others, were just downright hostile (Ari, ease up, woman!). But no, not to fear. Little J is back in action, and like I say, you have to live the life in order to blog about it. 

Partially the reason why I haven't written in a while is because things have seemed pretty ordinary and blog-unworthy. The other reason was because every time I wanted to blog, my internet went out. That's Italian technology for you, always reliable. I didn't want to bombard you all with another Moby Dick length novel, but I've taken a few trips since the last post, so I'll do my best to cut it down to only the meaty parts.

First off, I just want to say that I am very happy here. I know that seems pretty obvious, but sometimes you gotta throw it out there exactly like it is. I have an amazing group of friends that I hang out with, and life is generally amazing. Alright, well, during the weeks have been pretty mundane. Class is class, no matter if you're in Italy or in America. Granted, I never got to look at Donatello sculptures or take photos of an Italian piazza back in Austin, but hey, it's not all rainbows and sunshine (Mom and Dad-i AM writing papers/reading long, boring articles/taking tests, don't you worry). Besides going out on the weekends and cooking the occasional group dinners with the gals, life's pretty simple.

Now for the trips. Take a deep breath and dive right in:

LOCATION: Siena/San Gimignano

DATE: 5 February 2011

This was a day trip with my school program to explore what else Tuscany has to offer outside of Florence. Although these two places are beautiful and have lots to see, I don't have too much to say about them (lucky for you). You just kinda have to go yourself. However, I can't skip over them entirely. Siena, for those of you who would like a history lesson, is one of the most important Tuscan cities and was/is a rival to Florence. Things you may know/have heard about Siena: the Palio-a big horse race they have within the center of the city every year, the Fontana Gaia-Fountain of Joy, the Palazzo Pubblico-which has the famous Allegory of Good and Bad Government (one of my favorites), and the stunning Siena Duomo. We had an adorable, old man tour guide to take us around these and some other, more obscure sites. 

San Gimignano is a smaller town that is less well known but also very nice. The typical cuisine in these two places is wild boar, which is what we had in our pasta for lunch. San Gimignano is known for all of its towers. There are many of them all over town for fortresses, government, and religious buildings. Yep, that's about all I have to say about that.

Moving right along...

LOCATION: Verona

DATE: 13 February 2011

I know, I know. You're all completely shocked and appalled that I haven't sealed the deal with Paolo yet. Or, actually, any Italian man for that matter. Trust me, I'm just as shocked and appalled, if not even more. What's wrong with these Italian men? Because I'm positively certain it has absolutely nothing to do with me. Besides the slight pudge I've put on in certain areas (damn those Italians and their pasta-no PJ, you're still the #1 B.F.), I'm convinced I've only gotten bigger and better (litcherally) since I've been here. Anyway, as you can imagine, me and my single friends weren't too thrilled that V-Day was around the corner. Thank God that Italians think that we overdo San Valentino waaayyy too much in America, but still, it's not like there were no traces of the holiday lurking around the city. But still, my friends and I thought it'd be a great idea to go to Verona to see the sights and take part in the "Verona in Love" festival. The city was great, I'd suggest that everyone check it out if they get the chance. We went with a trip agency, so on the bus ride there we watched Letters to Juliet (happy now, Dad?). Terribly cheesy, but fun to see the sights. When we got there, we walked around with a tour guide to see the main attractions. We saw the Pozzo dell' Amore (Well of Love), some churches, some other historical sights, but best of all-Romeo and Juliet's houses. Being that I absolutely worship Shakespeare (shout out: Dame Fran Dorn, Diego, Ben, Travis, my BFF, and my scene partner), I was SO excited to see these things. Romeo's house is a private house now, so you can't actually see anything besides the front door. Whatevs, still pretty cool. Juliet's house is quite the different experience. Her house wasn't actually her house, but thought to have been a brothel at some point. When the Bard wrote his famous play, the people of Siena were confused as to who this Juliet was (since she wasn't real) and went searching throughout the city to find her. Verona, knowing what a tourist attraction this was, later added on the famous balcony and put a statue of the leading lady in the courtyard. It's true that many women come to Juliet and leave letters regarding their love concerns, and women called "Juliet's secretaries" actually respond to these letters. There is a tunnel walkway leading into the courtyard which is completely covered from top to bottom with scribbles of "so-and-so <3 what's-his-face", and "R+J=4ever". The area looks absolutely beautiful and serene in the movie, but unfortunately for us, it's the biggest tourist trap EVER and was impossible to move through the huge crowd. At the far end of the courtyard is the statue of Juliet, which supposedly, if you rub her right boobie you'll have good luck finding your true love. Well, needless to say, I pushed my way through the crowd to get on that because everyone knows I need all the help I can get. I even got an extra little swipe on my way out for that good luck cherry on top. After that was free time, which included my lunch of the most divine lasagna I've ever had in my life. I would seriously go back just to get that one more time. At the end of the evening is what they call the "group kiss" where all the couples stand in the piazza and kiss for one minute while a camera goes around projecting them on a big screen. Personally a bit awkward if you ask me, but whatever. People do crazy things when they're in love. Bus ride home consisted of the classic Romeo and Juliet. Verona: DONE. (Side note: I received a beautiful rose bouquet and a note from Chad and a very heartfelt Valentine's Day card from Diego-grazie mille, gentleman. And who said chivalry's dead?)

LOCATION: Stadio Artemio Franchi

DATE: 16 February 2011

Okay, so it's not a trip, but I couldn't leave it out. I went to my very first European futbol game. Florence vs. FC International. It was freezing and raining, and I only stayed the first half, but still pretty cool. Florence doesn't have a very good team, and FC Inter won some championship last year, so of course we lost. Highlights of the game: hot soccer players, crazy Italian cheers (ex: Inter! Inter! Vaffanculo!), and the absolute best: Katy Perry's "Fireworks" blaring whenever Firenze scored a goal, complete with red smoke going off. For that, you will always be winners in my eyes, boys.

LOCATION: Roma

Date: 18th-20th February 2011

The big guy-Roma. Talk about a city with things to do. I'm convinced you could have all the time in the world, and still not have enough time to see all that Roma has to offer. Because there is so much, I'll try to keep it down to the basics. 5 friends and I went a day early because our school was only going to be there for 24 hours, and we knew that was nowhere near enough time. Friday consisted of: Capitoline Hill, Piazza del Popolo, and the Borghese gallery and gardens. If you ever get the chance to go to Rome in your lifetime, GO TO THE BORGHESE GALLERY. Seriously, it's incredible. It's up on top of a hill, and you walk through this beautiful park to get to it. It doesn't look all that big, but boy, does it have a lot to look at. Not to name drop or anything, but its got Bernini's. LOTS of Bernini's. And they are breathtaking. So beautiful you never want to take your eyes away. Talk about a master of sculpture. And if I don't get married at the Dallas Arboretum, the Borghese area is definitely my other option. (Hopefully Juliet's boob is workin' its magic right now or else marriage is never gonna happen...) We went out for dinner that night in this area called Trastevere, which is where all the bars are and young people hang out in the streets. Pretty cool. Saturday our group arrived, and we had a full day of touring. First and foremost, I met the man of my dreams. Too bad he's about 80 years old. But lemme tell you, if Maurizio was born like half a decade later, I'd be set. He was the most adorable old man I have EVER seen and was FRF to the max (Frat Real Frat). Not to mention, he knew everything about everything, so I was constantly up at the front of the group listening to what he had to say and asking tons of questions. Maurizio knew he was a stud, too. With a group of 20 girls and 1 guy, he was flirtin' up a storm. Definition Italian Stallion. Not to brag, but I got his number. No seriously, I actually got his number. We went to Vatican city, which was so cool. Il Papa (the pope) wasn't out and 

about, but maybe I'll catch him next time. We saw the museum which was awesome. My top three favorite things to see: LAOCOOOOOON (otherwise known as MY FAVORITE SCULPTURE OF ALL TIME. It's stunning.), School of Athens, and the Sistine Chapel ceiling. PS-I now have major street cred. Guess who snuck a picture inside the Sistine Chapel? THIS guy. What a rebel. Then we moved on to St. Peter's. Didn't actually get to go in, but I know which window the Pope talks from every Sunday. After that we saw the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (fountain of the four rivers) in Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Column of Trajan, and the Trevi Fountain. At the Trevi Fountain you're supposed to throw a coin in over your shoulder and make a wish. When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do...so I did. Let's hope that one comes true. That night my friends and I went to see the Spanish steps, then sat and had coffee in the beautiful courtyard of a really fancy hotel. Sunday, another guided tour with Maurizio. This one consisted of seeing Michelangelo's famous Moses, 

the Colosseo, the Roman Forum, and the Arch of Titus. A couple friends and I used our free time to go see the Roman Synagogue. Very beautiful place, and I would love to go to services there. We also attempted to find La Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth), but when we did, the line was ridiculously long, and I already know I'm not a liar, so we just kept on keepin' on. By the way, Circus Maximus-wah wah wahhh. Don't get your hopes up if you expect it to be anything special. After a long 3 days, it was back to Florence. Rome, I'll be seeing you again. Verrrryyy soon.

With a lot now in my past, what do I have to look forward to? This week: seeing Il David in one of my classes. This weekend, Madrid to visit Elena. Next week, midterms-boooo. Then, SPRING BREAK 2011 (Girls Gone Wild: Italy?). Then, mia famiglia comes to Italia! Lot's of excitement, but also a tinge of sadness that this semester is nearly halfway done. Which consequently means that my blogging days are nearly halfway done. People, start preparing yourselves now for the intense withdrawals you will surely experience. 

Well, I tried to keep it short, and when you think about all that I had to jam pack into this post, I think I did a buon lavoro (good job). Sorry for not being sorry.With that, ciao tutti, e ci vediamo!

Us with the Carabinieri Roses

The Vespa I'm Going to Buy Someday

Perugia

San Francesco

Live From Firenze: THE BEATLES!

WHOA. Okay, I'm not even gonna lie to you. This post is gonna be long. Like, you thought the last one was long? Multiply that by 10, and then you and I will be on the same page. If you have a heart condition, could be pregnant, or are just faint-hearted, stop reading now 'cause this is gonna be one heck of a ride. So with that said, ladies and gentleman, without further ado, back by popular demand: my life in blog form!


I last left you all with my first week of real classes, and since then, lots and lots has happened. Last week was so busy that, as you know, I had zero time to update my blog, and unfortunately, I've probably forgotten some of the things I wanted to tell to you originally. Ah well, such is life. So last Thursday and Friday night I went out with a group of friends to explore the Italian night life more thoroughly. Safe to say, both nights were a complete success! Best discovery of the weekend and quite possibly my favorite food of Firenze (besides the Il Latini steak, of course)? Kabobs. Yeah, you read it right. No, don't judge me. KABOBS. You may think I'm crazy and that it's blasphemy to say your favorite food while you're living in Italy isn't even Italian, but trust me. These things are good. Just ask any of my friends, or even better yet, come to Florence and taste them yourselves. Anyway, I digress. If I spend this much time just talking about a kabob we could be here all night. When Saturday finally rolled around, my school group took a trip to the Chianti hills for an overnight stay at Il Corno. Needless to say, it was absolutely beautiful up there, and the estate was just as stunning. After we got our rooms, we had a long talk with our two staff members of the weekend. The lady was nice, but liked to stand on her soap box for a liiiittle too long if you ask me. The guy, Phil, was from London and is my new favorite person. Litcherally. No, but seriously, he said "litcherally" all the time, and I about DIED. It was fantastic. Hearing that takes me back to some good times in Austin...Anyway, we ate an amazing dinner cooked by the owner herself, and then headed to our rooms. I was staying with my homegurls Amanda, Sadie, Nicole, and Bree (or should I say Jordon, Blythe, and Devon?). Gotta love 'em. They're all fabulous. The next day we had a wonderful breakfast, got a tour of the winery, and with a delicious lunch to fill our tummies, we were on our way back home. A delightful time, if you ask me. Plus, now I can say I'm an expert at wines (I know how to tell the age and alcohol content just by looking at it and the proper way to smell and taste the wine). Monday was just a school day like any other. Tuesday was not bad, I guess, except for you know who. Return of the awkward art history teacher again. Except this time she wasn't so much awkward as she was boring as all get out. Have you ever had an art history teacher who reads a multiple page essay word for word to the class as her lecture? Yeah, me neither. I was litcherally (shout out: Phil!) doing everything I could to stay awake. I must have shifted positionslike 70 different times but to no avail. Finally, I just said screw it and rested my head on one hand while the other was moving a pen back and forth to look like I was taking notes. No joke. You can actually see in my notes where I fell asleep. HA! Priceless. Once I made it through that brutal torture it was on to the rest of the day. Italian-il solito (the usual). History of Tuscany-SO nerve wracking. We had to write a commentary on an article he had given us, and he sat there in front of the entire class and read each persons essay out loud. With additions of his own comments and critiques, of course. It was impossible to not feel like an idiot. Thank God I have more than half a brain and know how to spell correctly. I got by almost scotch free except for the omission of one comma where one was needed. After THAT form of torture was over, we had a pretty awesome class discussion full of the Count's riddles. See if you can figure them out: 


Riddle One: Two people are walking along ice, and when they look down they notice a man and a woman in the ice. They say, "Look, it's Adam and Eve!" They know this to be completely true. How do they know?


Riddle Two: A man is hiking up a mountain, and when he gets to the top he sees 6 people seated in a cabin, all dead. He knows exactly how each one died. How does he know?


If you can figure out even one of the two, you're a smart cookie. After class, my friends had some questions for the Count. I stuck around to hear what he had to say, and when he finished about 5 minutes later he turns to us and says, "Do you have anything important to do right now?" Ummm, even if I had a meeting with the President of the United States I would still say no. He then told us to follow him, and like baby ducklings following their mother, the 5 of us blindly followed behind him in a row. He ended up taking us to a small cafe where he ordered a bottle of wine for the table. We all sat around and drank while we conversed with (I'm so mature) and listened to the Count. Found out some pretty interesting stuff about him. If you're really interested to know, ask me later. Then, Tuesday night I had one of the best nights of my semester thus far. There's a bar called Be Bop at which every Tuesday there's a Beatles cover band that performs. So of course I was there...I have to make my mother proud! (Paul McCartney wasn't as cute as the real one) A bunch of my friends and I went, and it was such a great time to be had by all. We ended up sitting at a table right next to the stage with this guy Massimo. He didn't speak any English, but knew every single word to every single song. Well, kinda. It's like when we try to sing songs in other languages, and you THINK you know the words, but really you're just screaming a bunch of mumbo jumbo that kinda sounds like the lyrics but actually doesn't make any sense. Either way, it was adorable. He's great friends with the band and goes every Tuesday without fail. He was so nice and ended up buying all of us drinks. Luckily for us, he goes every Tuesday without fail... if you catch my drift. It was nice sharing our love and admiration for the greatest band of all time. It really goes to show that music does transcend language, it's something you feel inside of you whether you completely understand it or not. Best song of the evening: Oh Darling-what a classic. Tuesday ended on a good note...litcherally (too cheesy?). Wednesday, la classe di italiano, and that was it. On Thursday, all of the Italian classes got together to watch La Vita E' Bella, one of my all time favorite movies. If you haven't seen it, watch it immediately. The second class ended, 3 friends and I rushed to the train station to catch our train to Perugia. Somehow we made it in record time, and after walking through about 10 train cars, we finally found one with 4 seats together. Next to the only broken window on the whole train...of course. But we didn't care because we were on our way to Perugia! The hostel was great, as was the city. So peaceful and SO quiet compared to the bustling Florence. We had a delicious dinner, and then headed to a pub to spend our evening. Met some crazy/annoying Italian guys, but hey, it was entertainment at least. The next day, 4 more friends joined us, and we explored the city. I caved and bought my first shopping purchase. And I was doing so well with resisting the temptation! We checked out the Galleria Nazionale d'Umbria, and it was tiiiiight. Lots of pictures of the J.C. Although I'm usually asleep after looking at the same general image of Mr. Carpenter over and over in my art history classes (sound familiar?), I was actually very fascinated with each one that I saw. And trust me, there were a LOT. The most stunning was this one: http://tuscanyumbriavilla.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/350px-piero_perugia.jpg?w=350&h=588. You can't really tell how amazing it is from this crappy thumbnail, but it was incredible. For dinner, the whole group went out, and that brings about a funny little story. So, throughout dinner we notice a group of about 20 guys at a table close to us staring and pointing. They weren't trying to be sly about it either. They were just STARING and POINTING. Constantly. So, we're like, Dudes. If you're gonna be that obvious about it at least buy us a bottle of wine or something. So our waiter comes over and says that the table of gentleman want to know how old we are. Umm, no. Nice try. We ask who they are and he tells us they're Polish. Oh wait, no. "Polish" is just a goofy Italian waiter's way of saying POLICE. Yeah, the carabinieri. Well, shoot. Now we HAVE to play nice unless we want another Amanda Knox case x8 on our hands. (Too soon?) So we smile and go about our dinner, all the while they are STILL staring and pointing. Side note: Lemme tell you something. No matter what city you're in or what restaurant you go to, there are always these annoying men who come in trying to sell you roses. You would think after telling the same guy, "no I don't want any stupid roses!" five times he would get the picture, but no. So, without fail, in walks in one of the rose guys. A few minutes later our waiter announces, "Be prepared to get some roses soon!" as he walks by our table. I look at the table full of carabinieri and shout, "How about instead of roses we'll take some dolci!" Yeah, I don't think they understood English because in place of a tasty dessert we each got a rose delivered by the one lucky chosen guy from the group. I guess I'll take a rose over nothing (but I still would've much preferred some Tiramisu). It made for a good story, if nothing else. When we went to a bar later with our roses, a group of guys were shocked when we told them they were from the police. Maybe it's a pretty big deal or something? Who knows. You still with me? If yes, wow. I'm barely still with me, and I'm the one writing this thing. Let's continue. Saturday, the 2 Becca's and I got up early and took the bus to Assisi. If you thought Perugia was peaceful and quiet, go to Assisi. It's one of the most tranquil places I've ever been to. We went to check out the church of San Francesco, and my expectations were fully surpassed. First of all, the church was wayyyy bigger than I expected. I dunno, I figured since St. Francis gave up all of his worldly belongings and what not his church would be a little bit on the more moderate side. Nope. It was huge and beautiful. You weren't allowed to take any pictures, but Becca snuck some in, so I'll have to steal those from her and post them on here later. The coolest part of the whole trip was that we got to go down and see the actual tomb of St. Francis. We were lucky because right after we circled the tomb, they closed off the area in order to have Mass. I know I ain't Christian or nuthin, but hearing Mass led by real monks down in the tomb of St. Francis will be one of the highlights of my life. So incredible. After we went through the entire church and saw some relics, we wandered around the city for a bit until it was time to go home. FYI, trying to figure out which bus to take from Assisi back to Perugia was not a fun experience. Once we were back, we had a relaxing afternoon/evening. By the way, Firenze kabobs >Perugia kabobs, by far. This morning when we headed to the train station for our return home to Florence, we were notified that there was a strike and that the train would only take us to Arezzo, at the very farthest. We had heard something last week about a strike happening over the weekend, but pshh, who actually believes that when they hear it. Oops? We tried to create a plan of attack which involved taxis, trains, and buses, but eventually just decided to get on the train and hope for the best. Well, we must have had good ol' St. Francis watching over us because we made it all the way back to Florence SMN like we were supposed to. Thanks, Francy, I owe you one. And now, finally bed. I don't think this post even needs an ending because that'd just be one more thing to read. Catch ya on the flip side, people.

Gelato. DUH

The Dinner My Friends and I Made

The Gang Before Going Out

View From the Count's Balcony