catching up: calcio and cooking class

So this post is going to be a compilation of some of the things that have happened in the past couple of weeks that haven't been included in my other posts.

Calcio:
I may have mentioned it briefly, but some of the US study abroad programs - including AEF - here in Florence are part of a calcio (Italian football = soccer) league. Games are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays but we usually only have 1 or 2 games a week. Games are played on a small turf field about the size of a tennis court and consist of two 15 minute halves with 5 players from each team playing at a time (including the goalie).

Almost everyone in my program comes to the games: both to play but also to support and have fun! We've won 1 game and tied 1 (out of about 6 total) but we are definitely improving and I, at least, am having a blast playing! It's no field hockey, but it's helping keep me in some sort of shape so that once I get home I won't have as much work to do to get ready for pre-season in August (at least that's the goal).

We have our last two games the week after Spring Break, but I think there's a championship after that, so depending on how our other games go will decide whether we get to play more. It's a great way for our group to bond and come together even more than we already were.

Cooking Class:

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to participate in an Italian cooking class. We had to pay for it, but the school organized it through a local cooking class-school that caters to tourists and students etc. We spent a few hours making four dishes and then got to eat it! It was so much fun and I ate some of everything (even though I'm a picky eater and didn't care for some of it).


We made an eggplant, potato, cheese, dish for the appetizer

The main course consisted of two different pasta dishes

Ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta

homemade egg noodles with tomotoes

and then dessert was tiramisu!

It was a fantastic night filled with food and friends!

I think that's pretty much everything that's happened - that I haven't already posted about. Tonight the whole group is getting together for a pot-luck dinner before we all head off on our Spring Break adventures. Tomorrow I head off to England with Sam for about 5 days, and then Wednesday we'll head to Amsterdam to meet up with the rest of the group before they head off to Barcelona, leaving me, Sam D, Sam S, and Amy to explore Amsterdam for about 3 days.

I'll return to Florence Sunday, April 7 in the morning, which will give me a day or so to relax etc. before classes start up again. I'm not bringing my computer with me, so I'll post again when I get back in about 10 days!

Happy Easter!

horses, wine, and hiking

This weekend has been filled with wonderful new adventures and it's not even over yet! Friday the school organized a trip for us to go horseback riding through the Tuscan countryside followed by a wine tasting at a local Tuscan vineyard. The weather said it was supposed to be cloudy with a chance of rain, but we lucked out and had a beautiful day creating wonderful memories.

The day started with us all meeting outside the school building at 8:30 a.m. and walking to meet our bus by the train station. We then had a little over an hour ride to the horse barn where we split into 3 groups. Two groups were doing the horseback riding and the third was not. There were too many of us riders to all go at once, so the first group (which I was a part of) did the trail ride while all of the others went to explore a small "fortress" town on the hill about 10 minutes away. We then switched so we all got to do both (except those that didn't want to ride: they just stayed in the small town the entire time.)

The ride was wonderful! The horses were well-behaved for the most part, they stayed in a line behind the guide horse in the front, and we really only had to guide them if they started to stray toward the side of the trail - to keep them from eating the grass.

  

Because it has been raining so much some of the trails were very muddy so the horses would kind of lurch through those patches because they enjoy walking through mud about as much as an average person = not very much.

I had been on a horse before, for a week-long Girl Scout camp one summer about 10 years ago, but I haven't been on (or even really near) one since. It was a tone of fun, and the view was amazing, but after the hour or so I was ready to get off, stretch my legs, and give my bottom a break!

Once everyone had a turn on the horses it was time to head to the wine tasting! I'm not a big drinker in general, and I don't really care for wine, but I figured the school payed for it and I'm in Italy, I had to do it! We tried 4 types: a rose and 3 reds. I didn't like any of them, but I did like some more than others. It was a really neat experience and I'm glad I got a chance to participate.


I'm still not a fan but every so often - while I'm here - I'll have a glass with my dinner when the whole group gets together. I wouldn't go out and buy a bottle, but if I'm with a group and someone offers me some, I'll probably have a small glass. But I'm much more of a water person. Occasionally juice and, even less frequently, milk. When I get an alcoholic drink it's usually a fruity-cocktail, but that's not a common occurrence.

Saturday I went with Lindsey, Rachel, and Max to explore the Cinque Terre. The views were gorgeous! Unfortunately, we didn't realize how much hiking there would be, so we were not dressed as appropriately as we could or should have been, but we survived. The trails followed the coast, but along the cliffs, so we were miles above the ocean walking along these narrow, sometimes precarious, trails but the view was so worth it!

We started our morning with an-almost-3-hour train ride, leaving at 7 a.m. We went to the farthest town first, to work our way back to where our train would leave when it was time to head back to Florence. We took the train to Monterosso al Mare where we got a snack and explored a bit before setting out on the almost-2-hour hike to the next town: Vernazza. Once there we got some gelato and explored before setting out on the next hour-and-a-half hike to Corniglia. While here we got lunch at a nice sit-down restaraunt over-looking the sea. Since I don't like seafood (with the exception of tuna fish salad sandwhiches) I had spaghetti with meat sauce, which was delicious. To get to the next town - Manarola - we had to take the train, because we didn't feel like navigating the trails (or hiking for another 5ish hours.) Again, we explored and looked for Via del'Amore (lovers lane) which would get us back to the final town: Riomaggiore. However, the path was closed due to 2 rock slides, so we had to take the train :(

I think my favorite of the 5 towns was the first one we explored - Monterosso al Mare - because it had the most beach, even though the beach was mostly rocks.  All of them were gorgeous and the hiking was great, I just wish I had dressed for it instead of wearing jeans...

Overall, it was a great 2 days of adventures, memory-making, and sore muscles. BUT it was so worth it!

This week:
Monday we are doing a second "cultural exchange" with local Italian students. The first occurred a few weeks ago in our Italian class, and we got together with Italian students so we could practice our Italian and they could practice their English. This time, we are all going to a local pizzeria for dinner and probably a bar afterwards to get to know each other better.

Wednesday we have our second of 3 Italian tests (we have one at the end of each month we are here) and then Friday starts our Spring Break!

I am heading with Sam D to England for a few days where we will stay in Grantham for about 2 days. While there we will visit the small town where Sam lived when he was younger as well as Nottingham: Sherwood Forrest = Robin Hood! From there, we are going to Bath for a few days to explore the Roman Baths and do some hiking and whatever else we find.

Wednesday of that week we are heading to Amsterdam for the rest of the week. When we get there, almost all of the rest of our group will be in Amsterdam for one night together, so we'll probably all get dinner together or something before they all head off on the next leg of their journey, and we'll have a chance to explore things such as: Anne Frank's House, the Van Gogh Museum, possibly the Red Light District, and general adventuring!

Then, once we get back I'll have 4 weeks left of classes, projects, traveling, souvenir purchasing, and finals before heading home on May 4th. :)

friends in London & leaning towers in Pisa

"Though miles may lie between us, we're never far apart, for friendship doesn't count the miles, it's measured by the heart."

These past few days were wonderful! but bittersweet too...

This past week was Bay Path's spring break. During spring break every year, Bay Path goes on the Capital's of the World trip, and this year was to London, and I got to go visit!
(see more details in my previous post girl talk)

Tower Bridge
(Photo taken during my 2012 trip)

Thursday afternoon I got on a bus outside the Florence train station to the Pisa airport. Once there, I checked in and got through security and boarded the plane, taking off around 7pm (Florence time.) I landed in London's Stansted airport where I had to get through customs and print off my train ticket. From there, I got on a train to Liverpool Street where I had to buy an underground ticket.

Unfortunately, something must have happened with the bank, or they didn't understand when I called back at the end of January to let them know I would be out of the country for a few months. They needed to know that I was studying in Florence, but I told them I would be traveling throughout Europe too. I didn't have any problems when I went to Switzerland, but when I tried to get money out of the ATM to buy a ticket, it didn't work...

Needless to say, I was frustrated because it was about 9:30 at night (London time) and so most of the change places with real people were already closed...so I had to call my dad to have him call the bank and get it fixed, but it took until the next morning (bank time = Eastern Standard) for it to kick in, so I had to rely on Cat to buy me breakfast and lunch on Friday...

Big Ben & Parliament
(Photo taken during my 2012 trip)

Luckily I'm on my parents credit card now, and that worked, so I was able to buy the ticket for the underground to Westminster Station, near the hotel.

I got in around 10:15, almost 45 minutes after I told Cat I though I would be there...Finally we were reunited!!! After about 3 months of not seeing each other, it was great to finally get to hug her again :)
Obviously we still talk and skype on occasion, but it's just not the same as real life.

From the station, we walked the couple blocks to the hotel and I dropped my stuff off in Cats room and got settled for a bit.

Cat and I went for a walk around the area near the hotel to talk and just catch up with each others lives, which was so nice. We then tried to find some of our other friends, who had gone out exploring the city and such, and finally caught up with them around 11:30 or so.

We all hung out for a bit, but some of them had plans for the next day which involved getting up early, so we headed to the room and bed shortly afterward.

Friday, Cat, Julie (her roommate for the trip) and I went all over the city.

British Museum
(Photo taken during my 2012 trip)

Platform 9 3/4
(Photo taken during my 2012 trip)

While others were exploring Warner Brothers Studio's Harry Potter World and Stonehenge - which I still need to do at some point - Cat and Julie had some little things they wanted to do before they left. Cat and I had planned to spend a good portion of the day at the zoo, but the wind was brisk and we didn't want to be outside in it all day.

So, the three of us went to the British Museum for some souvenir shopping. From there, we went to the British Library to see some historical documents such as: original papers from Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, the Beatles, Jane Austin, the Gutenberg Bible and much more!

British Library

From there, we walked up the block to Kings Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4 and catch the Tube to the Natural History Museum. There, we got to see dinosaurs!! We also got to take an escalator up through the center of the earth and browse through the gift shop. We then stopped in the Westminster Abbey gift shop before heading back to the hotel.

 

We had a few hours to relax and I took a shower while Julie and Cat were packing before getting ready for the farewell dinner with the whole group. We all went to a Medieval dinner where we were served four courses by wenches and entertained by dancers, jesters, and jousting nights between each course. It was a bunch of fun, but it took a long time for them to get ready and bring us food, so we didn’t get to eat until almost 8:30 London time (9:30 Florence time.)

Best friends at the Medieval Dinner
(Cat, Me, Anna)

After dinner, we all went back to the hotel where a handful of us then tried to go out to a bar. However, even though it was a Friday, everything was closed or closing soon, so we went back and hung out at the hotel bar. Cat and I had to get up early so I could catch my flight, so we went to bed around 12:30.

Saturday we woke up around 6:15, got all ready and were getting on the Tube by 7am. We had to take the Tube to Heathrow airport – about an hour one-way – where we had to say goodbye so Cat could go back to finish packing and join the rest of the group for their own flight back to the States. Part of me really wanted to stow-away on the flight with them…

My flight, scheduled to leave at 10:45, didn’t take off until almost 11:30 and we landed in Pisa shortly after 2 (Italy time.) Once there, I went through customs and bought bus tickets to explore Pisa for a few hours.

Pisa is much smaller than I was expecting. Beautiful, but not some place I could have spent much more than a few hours. I walked around, kind of trying to find the Leaning Tower, but also just see what there was to offer. I eventually found the tower and the Duomo, took lots of pictures, bought some postcards, and caught a bus back to the airport.

From the airport I got on a bus back to Florence, arriving around 7:45 – getting back to the house in time for dinner, around 8pm.

After dinner I took a shower and settled in for a relaxing night and rest of my weekend.

As for today, I still have to do my homework – but that shouldn’t take too long; I’ve caught up on my TV shows; and now I’m watching Beauty and the Beast as I write this. It’s going to be a stay-in-and-relax kind of day. :)

With a skype call to my grandparents: it's my Grandmother's birthday! and probably one with my parents too

This week we have a soccer game on Tuesday and two on Wednesday, and then we're going horseback riding and wine tasting on Friday!

Right now I don't have anything else planned for next weekend, but most of us are staying in Florence, so I'm sure we will find things to do and places to see and adventures to have!

That's all for now and in honor of my Grandmother's birthday and Saint Patrick's Day I leave you all with this:

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing

girl talk..

“I always like walking in the rain, so no one can see me crying.”

-Charlie Chaplin

"Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone"
"Big Yellow Taxi" by Counting Crows

As I'm sitting here listening to Counting Crows to avoid the rain we've been getting since Tuesday or Wednesday, and will have until Thursday or Friday, I'm missing home. I mean, I always miss home, but it's been particularly prevalent these past few days. You know how the weather and your mood tend to correspond? Yeah, that's basically been me practically since it started raining...

Part of it is probably because I've been here about 5 weeks and this is the first full weekend off in a while, so I have nothing to take my mind off the fact that everyone at Bay Path is preparing for Spring Break and heading off on adventures with great friends, and I'm trapped inside watching movies and studying for my Art History test on Wednesday.

I mean, I don't mind watching movies all day, but when I'm already missing home and my family and friends, it makes it that much harder to be reading about everyone getting ready to go to London for a week.

I know I've been having great adventures and I'm sure there are people jealous of my life, but at this moment I just want to enjoy some mom-made comfort food with my family. Or a late-night Peachwave trip. Or even a stay-in movie night with my best friends. But, unfortunately, that won't happen for a bit longer...

HOWEVER I will be going to join the Capitals of the World trip* in London Thursday night until Saturday morning! I will finally get to see some of my best friends after 85 days of being apart. Granted it won't be for very long, only 2 nights and a day-and-a-half, but I don't care. It will be so worth it! I have literally been waiting for this since before I even got here :)

Now, I won't get to see all my friends, because not all of them are going on the trip, but I will get to see most of them, and the others I will see when I go back for graduation in just about 68 days. And of course, we have skype and facebook to continue to stay connected until then.

Last night I had a chance to talk to one of my cousins, Kiah, who reminded me of one of the biggest reasons why I miss home so much: MY FAMILY. We are so close I don't have a favorite holiday because it's always a fantastic time whenever my family gets together. We all love each other unconditionally and I don't know what I would do without any of them. No matter where we are, or how many of us are there, we always have great fun and make wonderful memories.

 

My family is a huge part of who I am, what makes me me, and why I am the way I am. I have friends who hate their family reunions, have never met their cousins, or don't talk to their grandparents, etc. and I simply can not understand that. Family has always been a constant in my life and I can't imagine it any other way. Granted, our schedules are so crazy we don't see each other too often, but every time we do everyone has a great time, and no one wants to leave when it's time.

Whether it's horsing around with my little cousins (who aren't as little as I remember/think they are) or having a quiet dinner with my grandparents, or catching a movie with my older cousins, or celebrating the Forth of July with extended family I hardly know in a family reunion that's been happening every year for the past 100+ years.

No matter the location, number, or names, I love each and every member of my family and am truly blessed to have them in my life. I would definitely be a different person without them in my life.

My family is probably the thing I am most grateful for. For as long as I can remember, around Thanksgiving (or just in general) when ever anyone would ask me what I was thankful for, the first thing to pop in my head was - and still is - my family.

I have lived in the same house in the same quiet neighborhood my entire life. My sister, Beka, and brother, Tom, are just like any other siblings. We get annoyed with each other quite frequently, but I would do anything for them.

My parents are a huge blessing in my life. I do not know what I would do without them. It sounds cliche I know but, seriously. They have always supported me in everything I do; have pushed me to discover who I am and what I want in life; and have raised me to be accepting of everyone, to not be afraid to reach for the stars, and to never forget to take time to appreciate everything life has to offer. Without them, I would not be the woman I am today, and even though I have flaws (as everyone does) I know that they will always love, support, and be there for me in the good times and the bad.

I can not wait to see them in just 56 days :)

*The Capitals of the World trip is something that Bay Path does every year during Spring Break. President Leary and her husband Noel lead a trip to a different world capital for a week. My freshman year they went to Paris, last year they went to Beijing, and this year they're off to London. Any one can go on the trip (as long as they pay, obviously). However, there is a scholarship that allows juniors to go for free. So, if you got the scholarship as part of your financial aid and maintain it, then in your junior year you get to go on the trip for free! I have this scholarship, so if I hadn't decided to go abroad I would be getting ready to fly to London this afternoon. As it is, I'm still going to be there for a little bit, but only because I planned and payed for it. However, because I have the scholarship and am abroad this semester, I get to waive my trip until next year, so next March I'll be off to explore a Capital of the World. I have no idea which one they are thinking of going to, but if I could choose, I would go to Sydney, Australia :)