August 2011... ive been back home for almost 3 months

Looking back on this blog is so sad! This past semester was absolutely amazing. I find myself everyday reminiscing about beautiful italy and the friends there and even compare my life back at home to my past semester, where everything was spontaneous and interesting. Home is great though, and I am about to start my senior year with a house full of my friends :)
I just wanted to do a little overview of my last 2 weeks abroad just so I have it.
I flew to amsterdam out of Pisa and Bridgit and lauren walked me to the train station to say goodbye. I arrived and Emmi (an exchange student from Holland that came to NP and played on my FH team) met me at the airport and since we were rushing we hopped on the train in the wrong direction. SO we got off 1 stop outside of amsterdam in a stop called utrect. Emmi said "well, you've know seen all of the netherlands!" haha. Once we got on the right train, we talked and went to her apartment where her boyfriend Bart also lives. It was great to meet him since I had heard of him and seen his pictures in Emmi's Np dorm room. They made me dinner that was very good! They are both great chefs and very creative since they are vegetarian. That night we walked around the city, along the canals, and saw many main sites. We saw the I AMsterdam sign, the museum park, and some cute and fancy homes along hte water. We stopped at a bar to talk and then went home to rest for the next day. In the morning, Emmi said I could have chocolate sprinkles on my toast! what a great breakfast! (Emmi and Bart were great hosts, BTW...so nice) Emmi then showed me a beautiful park, the floating flower garden, and some other sights. When she went back to study, I walked around and saw the main square, and the red light district which was crazy, and the typical touristy/pot spots. Each day Emmi and I would do something together and then she would go study and I would explore on my own. I ate some typical french fries with sauce and the best dutch cookies ever called stroopwafels. They are thin crisp waffel sandwhich type thing with carmel/syrup in the middle. One night after dinner, Bart and his friend took me out. It was a lot of fun and before we knew it it was almost 4am! Another day, I went to the Anne Frank Huise with him and that was a great museum and really moving and a good addition to me and dougs history lessons that we learned in germany. One day, when Emmi and I biked around the canals (i almost died i think and the canals to me are very confusing to navigate since i dont understand the street names half the time :p) we realized that the Amsterdam National Soccer game was taking place so the streets were packed with locals watching the games from the bars. Emmi said that we should not be there in case they lose since it would get very bad. But before we knew it the game was over and luckily they won! So the streets were mobbed, people were cheering and climbing poles and hitting hte busses and throwing flares. It was nuts but a lot of fun!
After Amsterdam I flew to London. Corry (my NP roomie) met me at the airport and we took the trains back to her house in Kingston. I had met her friends before, when they came to Italy, so we hung out and went to eat and toured around the little town of Kingston. the next day, Her mom aunt and sister flew in which was great since I know them and corry was then able to tour us around all at once. We stayed in Kingston and tried the very good cider called "brothers" that day and then the next we took the train into central London. I saw Big Ben, Parliament, the eye, the abbey, beautiful parks, and we attempted to catch some of the changing of the guards at buckingham palacce. That night we saw Wicked. Always have a great time seeing a musical! (Thank you Mr. Almeida for the ticket and the great seat!)
Other days, we toured central london some more, went to the tower bridge, picadilly circus, platfrom 9 3/4, and ate out and got fish and chips and bothered people in our hotel (hahah Mary A.!) I was then off to Scotland!
Melanie met me at the airport (melanie is a brighton classmate) and we hopped the bus to get into Edinburgh and to her apartment. We got changed and headed out since it was the end of the year for her as well and it was time to celebrate! Her ultimate frisbee team was having a "pub golf" event. We played "9 holes" or went to 9 bars and each bar had a drink that had to be finished by a certain "par" it was a great time and I loved that I met locals from the UK and scotland and had a "typical" night with them. Other days, we walked through Edinburgh which was a cool city. Its modern but still has the architecuture in parts, that shows its age. We saw the castle, the royal familys house, the craags (beautiful!), the royal mile streets, the high and low streets, beautiful parks to play frisbee and watch cricket games, and ocean. When Melanie was busy I took a tour of the city whcih was great and I learned a lot and learned about some Harry Potter! haha. The wind was CRAZY and my whole group almost got clobbered by a tree! I toured the royal mile shops and St. Giles church. I also too the tour called the "real Mary Kings Close" which was an underground tour of an old close, or street, and it was a little spooky. On my last day we hiked the craags and went to Arthurs Seat, or the top! It was super windy but it was beautiful and green and my favorite thing in Scotland. It technically used to be a volcano so that makes my 2nd volcano climb this semester! (Thank you again Melanie-- you were a great host and i will keep practicing my cooking skills:p)
After Scotland I flew into Rome. It was HOT AND SUNNY and I was SO happy to be back in italy. I called my brother and doug, even though it was 6am JUSt to tell them taht I love italy and I was back and I was standing outside the COlloseum! I mean, how cool is that?! I smiled that whole day when i toured the colloseum, the palantine, and trevi fountain. Just roaming the streets of italy again felt so comfortable. I hopped a train that night into Lucca, to meet Deborah. I stayed at her house and the next day we toured through Lucca again. It was beautiful and I couldnt have been happier. I ate, out, alone that night. I didnt mind one bit! I ate at a restaurant and Deb's italian husband used to work at. I got myself a great glass of wine, and TRUFFLE ravioli. I was in HEAVEN. I ate outside in the cute street of course and just felt so happy and oh' so italian. Another day I went out with the whole family, Deb, Paolo, and Aden. We ate out and had a great time and played calcio (soccer). We also did a little hike in Lucca which was beautiful and could see the leaning tower of Pisa from the top!
After Lucca I went back to florence and was to stay with my italian language partner, Cecilia (pronounced CH-ch-eee-lia).She was a great host and language partner and left me such a cute note while i was sleeping! Cecilia- you have wonderful english, keep working hard and come visit!

I dropped my stuff off with her and then went to walk around Florence one last time. I stopped at the school to check my email and print my boarding passes, return my cell phone, ate gelato, and got pizza and a beer and ate on the church steps. I ran into Krystal, who had spent her time in London, and we made plans to travel back together. We met outside the train station at like 4am and scrambled to find a taxi to get us to the airport. she had a crazy time with security but we made and made our connection and traveled together well and made it home!!

oh how i miss italy...it was my FAVORITE country BY FAR! I am happy to have traveled all over and am so thankful for hte amazing semester. Even though the traveling was great, it jsut really made me realize how amazing my program was <3

this is really sad

all my stuff is packed up :(
how did the semester fly by and why is it over?! WAH
this past week has been surreal. all of us have strolled through florence just being nostalgic and taking it all in. As my classes end i have said goodbye to people little by little :(
this really has been an amazing semester and all of us are sad to see it end. We had a picnic yesterday and all hung out and played catch. we then went to dance at this outdoor club which was fun. I leave tomorrow to go to amsterdam, london and scotland then back to italy to fly home. 16 days and im back inte states. sounds crazy. im not mad about going home but it definitely is sad to leave florence and everyone here.

Amalfi Coast-- great last weekend with friends

This past weekend I went to the Amalfi coast. It is in the south of Italy and we had beautiful weather all weekend long!! Since the program ends this friday, this was our last weekend together so all my friends were on the trip. Friday we went to the Island of Capri. We took a boat tour around the island which was beautiful! We then had a chance to see the famous blue grotto. In order to see it we had to get out of our boat and into these tiny boats that were being rowed by a guy. So 2 of my friends and I got in and we were so low to the water and squished in this little boat, it was fun! To get into the Blue grotto, we have to enter the small hole of the cave so we had to lay down in the boat. Once we pass through, we immediately see its neon blue water. We sit up and are just impressed by how cool it is! There is white sand at the bottom so when the light entering the cave hits it it creates this neon blue color which was really cool to see! Otherwise the cave was dark and the only light is the color. Some of the rowers were signing which was cute. After that we had time to explore the island. We got lunch at a place our guide recommended since she was friends with one of the waiters. He was so funny and gave us a nice deal and a tasting of his homemade limoncello! My friends and I then went into Capri town to explore and find the beach. As we were walking we saw beautiful views and the water was SO clear! We looked down below at some rocks and saw that some people were on them! I immediately didnt care about the beach anymore, i wanted to go there!! Coincidentally, in a few minutes I saw a small clearing in the brush leading down to the water. I hop the fence and start making my way down. My 3 guy friends join me and everyone else was like "what are you doing!? get back here" but this was just too cool to pass up. They were afraid to do it themselves since it was a little steep so they continued on to the public beach. We made it down the hill and onto the rocks and saw that they only people there were Italian which was really cool to us. Some were naked haha. So we make conversation with them and they were friendly and welcoming and we asked them how deep it was, etc. It was plenty deep to jump off the rocks but we were told to be careful of jellyfish. So we swam around for awhile and just had huge smiles on our faces as we realized where we were and how beautiful it was. Matt and I swam to this rock out in the water to explore and found this run down castle-type thing. We climbed all over it and I honestly felt like a little kid exploring- it was really fun. As we were swimming back a jellyfish swam in between us and we frantically swam back-- it was entertaining haha. Right before we left, we jumped off this higher rock. My friend doug had climbed it to just sit up there and look out but I convinced him to give it a try and after a while he finally did it. Watching it looked awesome! So we all gave it a try and got some cool jumping pictures. Standing up on the rock was awesome, and the clear water down below was so nice! As we were packing up, the men there were talking to us again. It was really fun to speak with them in italian and they were just asking questions and telling us stories. He kept mentioning this flower on coral that you can eat and cook with and pointed to his naked wife sunbathing saying she makes it really good.. haha. They then pointed to this shack up on the rocks and invited us to "look at their house" we followed him up there and it was this little shack covering that they spend time in during the warm months. It had a sign in Italian and it meant "our own nude beach". interesting. THe oldest of the men, looked about 80, was telling us that they had been coming here since they were 14 and built this and the path that we had hiked down to get here. So cool-- little old italian adventurers.
The next day we went to Positano. It had black sand beaches and they burned my feet haha. We swam around with all of our friends and again freaked out when we thought we saw a jellyfish-- it was our imagination though. I found it funny how freaked out I would get-- i am just not used to salt water since I usually am in lakes!
I found another rock to jump off of-- not very high but still fun! The walking in all of these town was fun-- so hilly and such small streets. They were all so cute and I wont complain of hills again!
the next day we went to Pompeii. I didnt go inside the ruins since i need to save money but I was able to see some of them from the outside. Just the story of pompeii is cool tho. Mt Vesuvius erupted and buried the down. It was found and excavated and now people can walk through the old town and even see some bodies that were killed from the lava. Their faces still had their feared expression on them. Since my friend doug had already been there with class, he did not go in either so we walked around to find a church. It happened to be the festival of the madonna so aa huge service was going on outside the church. the priests and everything were on the stage and there were projection screens and hundreds of people attending. It was cool to stumble upon in. Afterward we went inside the church and it was absolutely gorgeous!
After lunch we all climbed Mt. Vesuvius volcano! It was really cool to walk up the dusty path and see the crater.

cant believe this week is finals and everyone goes home!! I leave friday to start my travels

Cinque Terre and Torino

Cinque terre was amazing! It means 5 lands and they are connected by hiking trails or trains. We trained to one of the town, then hiked for more than an hour to the next one. It was really intense but so much fun! When we got to that town we had lunch. the region of liguria is known for its pesto so I had pesto pizza which was really good!
we then went to the water at the bottom of the town along this cliff. It was beautiful. It was rocky, so we layed out on the rocks and jumped into the water. I swam the whole time! we then trained to the 2nd to last town and walked the "love road" to the last town. This was created by people in the 2 towns that wanted to meet each other for dates. It was cute! We then headed to torino, which was italy's first capital. It was a really nice city. we went to a winery that was family owned and had a great afternoon there. The whole family was present which was really cute. We tasted 4 wines and had food that is paired with each of them. We then went to the cinema museum. That night we went out which was really cool since torino has a whole section for going out. It was one big area filled with people and bars so that was nice and fun. The next day we toured the city center and went to a egyptian museum which is the biggest collection outside of egypt. In the city center there was a communist party parade of some sort which was interesting but i think they were just celebrating the unification of italy.

Croatia!

Had a really fun trip to eastern europe! got a stamp in my passport as we passed through slovenia! So the weekend went as follows:
First day we had an island hopping cruise. It got a late start though so we only went to Brac island. We were served lunch tho and i ordered the fish and it was completely whole so i had to be careful eating it but it was delicious. Right when we docked we jumped off the boat and went swimming :D we then walked around the island and went to a beach which had such clear water it was beautiful.
The next day we went white water rafting on the Cetina river. Our guide was really nice and like all the Croatians we encountered, asked how we liked his country. The other guides were fun as well and would splash us as they rafted by. The river was only class II rapids so it wasn’t extreme it all but it was a beautiful day out in the woods and on the river. We were able to jump off this rock into the river which was really fun!! My rafting group would sing as we rafted down the river, haha it was fun!
That night we went to this small island for dinner and found a really nice place and ordered calamari. It was DELICIOUS!
The 3rd day was easter and we ferried to Brac island again. We then took a taxi to the other side of the island where the Golden Horn Beach is, the most famous one. It was absolutely beautiful and the small town there was also really nice.

last of florence

im so behind on posting but i cannot believe the semester is almost over. i see the little kindergartners for the last time tomorrow and italian is already over and i am getting ready for the end of my other classes.
last week Corry (my new paltz roomie) and her 3 friends, all studying abroad in london came to visit. I was so happy to see her! It worked out well since Florence was their last stop so it was relaxing for them to have a tour guide only showing them essentials, bringing them to the best food places, and showing them unique things. I picked them up from the train station and brought them to gusta pizza which they loved! We went to piazza michaelangelo which is a little hike up to the overview of the city and they thought the city was pretty-- which it is :D and i gave them a little bit of a walking tour. We then all went out with some of my friends and of course got secret bakery!
The next day I had cooking class which was again, amazing. Afterward I met up with the girls again and we went walking around the city seeing more sites and got really good panini. I then brought them to the artisan that I met through one of my teachers that works with metal and makes things for cristian dior, bloomingdales, etc and he handmakes bracelts. So we went to his workshop and got some and they loved it! That night we went to my school restaurant for aperitivo before their night train. it was great :D

Sicily!

My trip to sicily was a lot of fun! This trip was for my whole program, so all of my friends were going and we were really excited. We were to leave late on thursday night to take an overnight train. We played soccer in the train station while we waited, and ran up and down the train seeing where all of our friends rooms where once we got on. Many of us played games and hung out with one another until we went to bed. The overnight cabins were actually really nice. Our chaperones had warned us about the dangers of overnight trains, especially when traveling in the south. So my roomates and I made sure to lock our door properly. In the morning we heard that some of our peers did not do so and they were robbed. One ended up being my florence roomate, Victoria and her friends. She had woken up 3 times in the night, the first time to her door wide open but she thought to herself "why didnt anyone shut this?!" so she shut it and locked it agian (but did not do the deadbolt since they hadnt seen it). The second time she woke up to a man standing in her doorway and screamed and slammed the door shut once again. She regrets not saying anything then but she went back to bed. the 3rd time she was woken up was due to her purse being stolen from underneath her head! the robber had broken the lock once again, walked into the room and taken her purse from underneath her. He had also taken her friends ipod from her bed, since she fell asleep listening to her music. How creepy! Victoria SCREAMED and ran out of her car! She woke up the whole cart and startled the man so he pulled the emergency break and jumped off the train which allowed police to get him. He ditched the belongings when he jumped off the train so luckily everythign was returned to them, except cash. Good thing victoria woke up and screamed and woke up others because when other students woke up they too realized that stuff had been stolen from them. One girls very expensive photography camera was taken and luckily returned. If she hadnt screamed, all of their belongings would have been gone for good.
So yes, it was a crazy start to our weekend but once we arrived in sicily we went to Taormina which was a really nice, small town. We found time for lunch and toured the city center which was beautiful. Unfortunately it was little rainy.
We then went to a bakery and got a cannolo (isnt it funny how we saw cannoli in america..but that is actually plural. same with panini.. if you want to eat one, it is panino).
I hadnt eaten a cannolo all semester since i was waiting to have one in sicily and boy was i happy i waited. It was AMAZING. SO fresh, big and delicious!!
After taormina we went to siracusa to check into our hotel. It was nice and we then had a group dinner. We got a full meal; all the courses. It was seafood based and I loved it. We then all went out. The town was really quite and here we are, a big group of maybe 50 of us walking down the street. We found a small bar that was basically empty and swarmed it. they were playing techno music that we got sick of pretty quickly so i went up to the bartender and asked if we could play some Shakira! so the music was switched, and everyone took over the dance floor! From then on all the music was music that we loved and could dance to so we basically took over the dance floor and danced all night it was awesome!
The next day we toured siracusa and saw the city center and churches. It was really beautiful.We also went to this archiological park and saw a really cool cave that is acoustically perfect and some roman caves and theatre. We had free time for lunch so we explored the market and found a cute place to eat. We then wanted another cannolo so we found a bakery to order some. The price wasnt visible so I ended up being a few cents short but the cute little old man said it was ok if i gave him a kiss on the cheek! haha oh the italians.. i of course really wanted my cannolo, so... ya haha
We then had a boat tour scheduled and we would be able to see the grotto and swim. Unfortunately the weather was not great so that part of the boat tour was canceled and we could only ride the boat along the city line. I didnt mine even though it was raining. The captain was funny and played music and danced. Most everyone stayed under the covering and huddled together. Lauren and I stood out on the deck and tried to make the most out of it. We got whipped around by the rain and wind and people thought we were nuts. It looked like we would be blown away!
The next day we visited a small and BEAUTIFUL town of noto. We tried it granita, which is like italian ice and very good!
We then went to a beach.. again not the best weather but my friends and I played soccer and frisbee for awhile. When we were about to play a game of ultimate frisbee our guy friends all of a sudden ripped off their shorts and ran around the beach in speedos! It was absolutely hilarious and disgusting!
Then I of course went swimming. It was actually not that cold! My 2 friends joined and we had fun playing around in the waves. We then, though, had to leave to go straight to the train station and the bathroom was nasty so we felt really gross and sandy for the travel home.. we felt like we were slumming it.
For the first time all weekend, besides the break in, we felt uneasy at this train station. Alot of beggars and creepy people. It made victoria and all the others that had been robbed nervous for the ride home. We were all ok though and took many precautions. We did have a stop at one train station however and heard a lot of commotion outside. We looked and saw a ton of what we think are libyans, outside and barging into the other trains. It was crazy to see.

so ya, it was a great trip and i had a ton of fun especially since i was with my whole program