Kevin and Alex come to Florence

On Wednesday I was feeling very brave and decided to get a fierce Italian hair cut before I left. It was a big deal for me because I have been going to the same person since I was 15 and I was about to go tell someone who doesn't speak much english how I wanted my hair to be cut. In Italy they do not use scissors they use a razor, which was terrifying but it came out really nice and I love it! On Thursday Kevin and Alex(kevins sister) came to Florence. I picked them up from the train station and showed them to their hostel. We immediately went to Tijiuans for happy hour b/c it was thursday and that is what we do. We got silly off of margaritas went back to our apt then went out for a fun evening bar hoping in florence. Friday morning I wasn't feeling to great but had to meet kevin and alex so we could climb the duomo! 466 steps to the top hung over is so much fun! I wasn't alone in my suffering so it was fine, we also ate some delish food which increased my value of like about 30%! After the duomo we got some gelato went to the pont de vechio, went to see the statue of David in the Academy...he is HUGE and has a very nice butt! After the David we went to the market shopped around then went back to La giostra the restaurant where I got the amazing steak b/c I wanted Kevin to try it. This time when I got it.. it was more rare then the last time, it didn't even look cooked but it was still amazing. Kevin felt like crying because it was so good, I'm glad he could experience the steak. After dinner we were all in food comas and tired from a long day and went to bed. Today, Saturday, I met them on the steps of the Duomo and brought them to piazzale michelangelo. After our trip up there we went to the central market and got fresh sandwhiches from the butcher. I brought them to the train station because they are heading to Rome but I am going to meet up with them again on Monday and go to Cinque Terre with them for the day. Which is supposed to be beautiful. I love when friends come to visit because I get to show them this amazing city I have been so lucky to live in for the last 4 months. I can't believe this is my last week, its going to be an emotional week, but Im also very happy to go home.

Booose Cruise

On Saturday at noon we all hoped on the booze cruise, a tiny pink boat that holds 50 people. Beer is 1E and everyone gets very drunk. The first stop was a huge rock were people went cliff jumping. The next stop was a bat cave that you could swim through and the last stop was a little private beach. The boat ride was crazy and got a very wild we got back at 6. After the cruise we went home showered and got dressed in our pink togas for the toga party later that night. At the toga party we all were force fed more ozuo and had plates smashed on our heads while we watched Greek dancing. On Sunday we all laid on the beach and ended up getting burnt/ tan. We had to be back on the bus at 5:30 to the ferry which brought us to the cruise, then get on the bus then walk home. It was alot of traveling but it was definitely worth it. Greece was beautiful and I want to go back immediately. 

Getting to Greece

On Thursday morning all 8 of us girls took a 4 hour bus ride to a port near Venice. We then took an over night cruise ship to Greece. The cruise ship was hilarious because it was filled with Greek truck drivers who were all very sketchy looking. They were also dominating the dance floor at the club that was on the boat. The next morning when we arrived in Greece the ferry drivers were on strike so we had to wait at the dock for 4 hours! Once we finally got on the ferry which was another hour and a half ride we had to take a 20 min bus ride to the Pink Palace a world famous hostel on the Island of Corfu. As soon as you get there they give everyone a shot of ouzo which tastes like "sambouka" aka it burns your throat. We unpacked our stuff and headed down to the beach which was absolutely beautiful. We were all starving so we got some gyros and I had my first beer! I hate the taste of it so I only have a sip, but I was like I am on a beach and I feel like drinking a beer so I forced myself to drink the entire thing. After this we all ran into the water even thought it was freezing. We showered, went to dinner and then danced all evening. 

best steak of my life!

This weekend we stayed in Florence. Wednesday we went to the villa my roommate Whitneys parents were staying at in wine country. Her mom made us dinner and it was absoloutly beautiful! Thursday Sarah and I went with Kelsey to meet up with her Italian Station she had met the week before, we were her back up! The funny thing about this guy is that he speaks absolutely no english! So there was a lot of smiling between the two of them. We went to Moyo first and told "luca" to call his friends when they finally arrived they were total creepers and sarah and I were trying to ditch them for the rest of the evening. After moyo we went to twice and danced for a bit talked with our favorite security guard Frank at the door and went home. On Friday I went for a lovely run and walked around the San Lorenzo market, I got some nice presents for myself :). After the Market we went to a restaurant called La Giostra. I ordered the Bisteca alla florentina (a traditional florentine recipe) The waiter told me it was for two people, I told him to bring it on, I could handle it. When he brought it to me it was literally a platter of food. It looked like a thanksgiving feast on a plate. Florentine steak is very rare in the middle and delicious. When I took my first bite I was speechless. I almost shed a tear I was so happy. I started giggling about my steak as if I had met a cute boy, my mouth is watering about it right now. I couldn't finish it but I took it home. As soon as i got home i had some more b/c i was thinking about it the entire way home. After dinner we hung out in the house and got ready to go out. We went to this club called Central Park, it was supposedly an outdoor club, but I think because it isn't warm enough yet they didn't have the outside open. It was really crowded, a bit too crowded, but it was cool. Today Sarah, Maggie and I went to Ganzo our schools restaurant and had a delicious brunch. After our brunch we walked to the Boboli Gardens with some sheets and laid out for a few hours, we all got some color. We came home showered and went out to dinner with Angies parents. It is starting to hit me that in 3 weeks I will be going home. I have become so close with a few of my roommates that it is going to be really hard to say goodbye to them. I will be a wreck when I leave! It is hard to explain this experience with anyone else who isn't here with me, which is why I think we have connected so much!

Just some more pictures!

Pompeii ruins....
blue grotto and the entrance 

The Amalfi Coast, Sorento, Capri and Pompeii

On Thursday me and 4 of my roomates went with Euroadventures to the Amalfi coast. We took a coach bus from Florence on Thursday night and drove 8 hours to Sorrento in southern Italy. We didn't get there until 2:30am so we all passed out once we arrived. The next morning when we woke up we got lunch and took the ferry to the island of capri. When we got there we walked around the island and followed the signs to the "centro" what we didn't know that getting there meant walking up the biggest longest hill of my life. When we got to the top we were all sweating profusely/ dying but the view at the top was unbelievable and worth it. We found a cute little hand made sandal shop which had an equally cute little old italian woman who was so excited for us to be in her store. She told us that Jackie O came to her store 3 years in a row and bought sandals from her and then showed us a picture on the wall, she was precious and we all got sandals. We then walked back down the hill had a glass of wine and waited for the ferry. We got back to Sorento showered and got ready to go out. First we went to this karaoke bar then we went to this bar that was completely empty but at the time we didn't care. I made friends with the cook and he made me french fries even though the kitchen was closed we were all excited to eat them. The next morning everyone was too hung over to get up except for sarah and I. We got up went had some breakfast ironically at the same bar we went to the night before which was awkward. We then walked to the port and made it on the ferry to capri just in time! Once we go to Capri we took a boat to the blue grotto, which is one of the wonders of the world. It is a cave that you go in by boat and when you go in the light from outside of the cave reflects on the water making the water a crazy glowing blue color, It WAS AMAZING! In order to get into the cave you have to sit on the floor of a little row boat and the man with the oar holds on to a rope pulls you in, everyone has to duct in order to not hit there head on the cave entrance, it was unreal inside, amazing. After the grotto sarah and I were cold so we had hot chocolate and desserts which were both bad, but decorated beautifully. After that we stumbled upon a store that sells designer clothes for very cheap. They have clothes from past seasons. Sarah and I ended up buying matching dolce and gabbana dresses for really cheap! Then we walked down to the beach and just laid on some rocks in the sun for an hour or so, got back on the ferry and back to our hotel. We showered and then went out to dinner. We went to this pizza place that was really good. Pizza I guess was invented in Napoli which is right next to Sorento so they have the best pizza down there. We were all really tired that night so we just stayed in. On Sunday we took a train to Pompeii to see the ruins. It was really crazy and so big! I took some rocks to bring back for my dad :) After pompeii we went back because we had to get on the bus and drive another 8 hours back to Florence. We got home late and I passed out. It was a great weekend, I had a lot of fun and laughed a lot, its so crazy that I have about a month left!

Last day in Amsterdam

On our last day we needed to get up kind of early b/c our plane back was at 6pm. So we went into Amsterdam and walked to the Amsterdam Dungeon. It is a museum that has live actors in each room telling you through skits about the dark side of Amsterdam's past. Such as torture, diseases and witch craft, it was very entertaining. During the tour I was asked to sit in a chair and I was interrogated and my tongue got "cut off" and was also put on trial for being a witch. After that museum we went to the sex museum which was hilarious! After that It was time to head back to the airport. I said my goodbyes to Janne, it was sad b/c that most likely will be the last time I will ever see her unless she comes back to the states to visit. The Amsterdam airport doesn't play around when it comes to security. When I went through the security check I beeped when I walked through the thing. The woman guard had to pat me down.. but she literally no joke grabbed both of my boobs...felt me up then put her hand between then and like under my bra then down my pants, it was so awkward and I was trying really hard not to laugh and act serious but it was very difficult when you have some strange woman groping you in the security line. Amsterdam I think is one of my new favorite places I had an amazing time and I have had a smile on my face ever since :)

Amsterdam day 2

On Sunday we took the train back into the city for another fun filled day. Our first stop was the Heinken Factory for the Heinken "experience." It wasn't really a tour is was more interactive. The first room had two screens with a guy talking to you about the history of the company. You walk through and see old labels, you learn how beer is made, you try the beer, you go on a virtual ride of making it feel like you are being brewed, you can make a bottle with your name on the label, its was just really cool and I don't even like beer. After the factory we walked quite a while to our next stop the Ann Frank house, where she hid during WW2. It was really weird being in that house. The stair case up to the 3rd floor was so steep. Then there is a hidden passage behind a book case that you enter to go up to where the people in hiding lived. There is no longer any furniture in the building b/c it was taken away once they were discovered but in Ann Franks room there are pictures all over the wall they she had cut out of magazines to decorate the room. I got goose bumps when I was standing in her room thinking that Ann Frank herself was hidden in this room for so long, never saw the light of day and was the one who put the pictures on the wall that I was looking at, it was very sad. At the end of the house her actual diary is in a glass case. Janne was trying to translate it for us but she was having trouble b/c she said it was in an old dutch dialect. After the house we went back to Jannes house and met up with one of her friends. We yet again hopped on our bikes and went to downtown Utreck to a club. Everyone in the Netherlands rides bikes everywhere, there are an insane amount of bikes everywhere. Everyone also buys really cheap bikes b/c they get stolen all the time. The club scene in the Netherlands is defiantly different then Italy. Everyone there goes for the live DJs everyone is most likely on Ecstasy and they are just like moving around to the music and just absolutely loving the music. In comparison to Italy where you have no room to move and have to constantly be dodging Italian men in order to not get groped. After the cluh we went home and went to bed.

Amsterdam, Netherlands Saturday

This weekend I went to the Netherlands and it was amazing! I was going to obviously see Amsterdam, but my friend Janne as well. Janne is from Holland and she studied abroad in America at Champlain this past fall semester. Maggie (my roommate) and I stayed with her. She picked us up at the airport and gave us little wooden clogs and "typical dutch cookies" to welcome us to her home, she is so cute! She drove us through her home town and showed us where she worked, and the house she grew up in. It was so crazy because honestly when she left in December I never thought I would see her again, yet there I was with her in her home town in the Netherlands. Once we got to her apartment we refreshed ourselves and headed to Amsterdam. Janne lives in Utreck which is a 20min train ride from Amsterdam. We rode bikes to the train station which was interesting because the bike I was riding was too big for my short legs so I had to get a running start in-order to get on and whenever we stopped for traffic I had to throw my body off the bike, but I WAS RIDDING A BIKE THROUGH HOLLAND... so I didn't care that much :) Once we got into amsterdam I instantly fell in love. The buildings were beautiful, everything had bloomed including the tulips and there were canals everywhere. Our first stop was a "coffee shop" where they have a weed menu. It is so crazy there are people smoking in the streets and you can smell it everywhere. They also sell "space cakes" which are weed cupcakes. I had a bite of the space cake just to try it .. to say I tried a space cake in amsterdam...After the coffee shop we walked to the Van Gough Museum where I got to see the famous painting "starry night" it was so cool to see it in real life among with all his other famous paintings. After the museum we got some wine and sat in the park and just talked and sipped on wine. While we were doing this I dropped my entire cup on myself so it looked like I wet myself.. it dried eventually. After relaxing for a bit in the park we headed over to the red light district....In the red light district there are windows after windows with half naked women just standing there shaking their boobs. If someone is interested in them they walk in the glass door and they shut a curtain. There are sooooo many I couldn't believe what I was seeing, so I took a picture from a far, but apparently this one prostitute had tunnel vision and saw me. She got off her little platform, came out of the door and yelled "NO PICTURES YOU BITCH" and threw a cup of liquid at me...which I later learned was URINE which apparently they keep on hand for when people try to take pictures of the. Luckily she missed but I thought it was funny that a whore called me a bitch! It is a story to tell my grandchildren for sure. At this point we had been up for almost 24 hours so we went home and passed out. 

Sunday and Monday

On Sunday we all slept in, I finally went for a run, I was feeling really fat after eating out every night this week. When I met up with dad and sharon we went to the Bobili Gardens and the Piti Palace, which is on the other side of the river. Both were beautiful. After the gardens we went to a bakery and my dads third one of the day and got basically one of everything. We went home napped and then met up for Tijuanas! (where I go every thursday) We went and got two pitchers of margaritas... dad and sharon got a bit tipsy, it was rather amusing. My dad started talking to the two Italian men next to us and we ended up talking with them for 45 min. Then my dad bought them dinner. I also got a Tijuanas t-shirt(all my roommates are jealous) When we left my dad said "that was fun I like that place" and I responded dad.. that is why I go every week! 

Today we took a bus trip to Siena, a small medieval town. We got there walked around saw the sights and ate lunch. On the way home the bus was like a sauna and I could barely breathe. When we got home I had to do HMW! (weird) I had a great week with Sharon and my dad and I am sad that they are leaving in the morning, but I will see them again in 6 weeks!

Today was also the day that the earthquake hit Italy. We luckily didn't feel anything here in Florence!

Wine Tasting

Yesterday my dad, sharon, some of my roommates and I, along with others from my school went on a trip to chianti for a wine tasting. The trip was organized through my school and was a really great experience. We first went on a tour of the grounds and then went into the wine cellars to see how they store the wine. After the tour everyone sat down for lunch. The tour guide explained to us how to hold your wine glass (at the bottom as far from the cup part as possible) how to look at the color, to smell it and to taste it. He kept stressing that wine isn't for quenching your thirst, it is to evoke conversation, meeting new friends and having an experience. We sampled three different types of red wine and had pasta, peccerino cheese(sheep cheese), assorted meats, olive oil, bread, beans... a lot of food. The entire day was really great we made new friends with some girls who sat across from us (which apparently we can thank the wine for) and I am really glad my dad got to experience it with me. After we got back we all napped and then met up again for dinner. Even though I was still full from lunch we went to dinner. We sat at a restaurant right in front of the duomo it was cute(very touristy). After dinner I left my dad and sharon and went back to my apartment and hung out with my roommates. We went out to Moyo a bar and had drinks and then attempted to go to twice a dance club. However, florence is at the height of tourist season and the amount of people out was insane. We walked in the club and immediately left because it was so crazy. We all were getting up early so we called it a night and went home.

More Dad and Sharon

Yesterday I met up with my dad and sharon and brought them to Piazzale Michelangelo. Piazzale Michelangelo is on the other side of the Arno and on a hill. From there you can see a beautiful view of Florence. We walked around went up to the church and checked out the crazy grave yard they have there. After our hike dad and sharon were pooped and couldn't keep up with me b/c I used to walking all over the place. They went home and took a little nap and we met up again for dinner. We went to this sushi place called Kome. You sit at the bar and there is a conveyer belt that brings different types of sushi to you. If you see one that you like you just take it and at the end they tally your plates. It was really cool and I even got daring and tried something other than a vegetarian role. I made my dad proud. 

Today I woke up at 6:30 met my dad and sharon at 7:30 and went to the train station to catch a train to Rome. Once we got to Rome we went straight to the Collosseum. We walked around the collosseum it was much nicer this time because it wasn't raining so I took some better pictures this time around. After the collosseum we walked to the Pantheon and sat outside and had lunch. After lunch we walked to the Trevi Fountain and took a cab to the Vatican City. We walked around outside, went into the basilica and then made our way to the Sistine Chapel. I am pretty lucky to have gone to see all of these things twice in 2 months b/c some people never get to see them. The world wind tour I took them on today probably could have taken a week but we did it in 8 hours and were very tired by the end of the day. We went to Yellow for dinner and now I am going to pass out in my bed. 

My dad is here!

Yesterday, My dad and Sharon arrived in Florence :)! In between my class I met up with them at there hotel and brought them to get a delish sandwich. I went to class and after class took them out to this restaurant for dinner. Today I met up with them again after class. We went to the outdoor market and looked at what everyone had at there little stands for a while. We went to get gilato and I brought them to the pont de vechio, I basically brought them to all the main sights in florence. We went to Chiro and Sons for dinner and at a delicious meal. 

Last Day in Barcelona

During our last day in spain we basically just slept all day and relaxed. At night we went back to the bar we went to the night before. After we left we hopped on the metro to try and find a club called bikini. When we came up out of the metro we ran into a promoter for the club and he put us on the guest list so when we got there we didn't have to pay. In order to get into the club, you have to go down this ramp that brings your underground. Once you get inside you check your coat and go down stairs, so the club is totally underground. The club was filled with a bunch of older people, we were deff the youngest there. There was two rooms. One room was a salsa room and another was a hip hop room. We were in the hip hop room and all of a sudden mission imposible music started to play. We looked at the stage and the curtains moved. Out came 6 girls all dressed like sexy cops/ the pussycat dolls. They all started dancing to this little routine then 4 guys came out who looked like chip and dale dancers who were dressed also as sexy cops came out and danced with them. The entire time we just stared in disbelief and were like are we really watching this right now. I wished I had taped it was quite crazy. Afterwards we went home went to bed and got ready for our flight home the next morning. 

When we woke up we dinned on broccli, pizza, pesto pasta, beer and wine, we cooked everything that was left in our fridge got in a cab and went back to florence. It was down pouring when we got back, I read for the rest of the day and then on sunday it rained again, I worked on a project and watched a movie.

On monday Maggie and I put all of our dirty laundry into trash bags and basically held them in front of us and walked around trying to find a laundry mat to wash our clothes because ours was broken. We went into the grocery store to get change and I told the guy we were going to do laundry and he said "OH I thought you crazy americans were just carrying trash around" it was pretty funny. Once we go to the laundry mat I was so excited to do my laundry, b/c there were dryers. Over the last two months I have been hang drying things and my socks and underwear get like crunchy so I WAS PUMPED to dry my clothes. that clearly was the highlight of my day, I went home and did more hmw. 

Day 6 and 7, Barcelona

On Wednesday we went back to La Rambalas and found the Gothic area of Barcelona. It was like a time warp, unfortunately the cathedral was under construction so it was semi covered up. After we walked around some more and went to a Dali museum which was pretty ghetto and not worth it. We walked back towards the apt , met up with maggie, got starbucks and sushi. Later that night we went to a bar and just hung out then got McDonalds which was really great at 3am. 

On Thursday Maggie and I woke up at 9am b/c we made appointments to get pedicures at 10. We were running late, but needed starbucks so we hauled ass there got some drinks and then power walked to the nail salon. This woman gave me the most thorough pedicure I have ever gotten. She spent an hour and 45 min on my feet. I then had to wait for Maggie to get hers. After our feet were beautiful and happy we went home at 1:45 and made some lunch. After we ate lunch we grabbed madison and walked 45min uphill to Gaudi park and once we got there we were all so winded and needed to sit down. The park is completely devoted to Gaudi. I can't even explain it just look at the pictures. Gaudi must be on some drug when he designed things b/c they are just strange. Later that night we went to this mexican restaurant. After the mexican restaurant we walked to this bar to meet up with a girl who was going to take us out. On her way I noticed a man standing behind a bunch of boxes. I quickly glanced at him and noticed he penis was totally out of his pants! I screamed and ran .. he was also about 70-75 years old. That image will forever be burned into my mind blahhhh. We met up with Kristin the girl who was going to take us around at a bar. This bar was really cool it was really big inside and filled with tons of international people. The inside looked like a castle or something it was really cool. After we left there we went to another small bar where we met up with 3 of Kristins very cute german friends, one of which looked like Edward Cullin from twlight (babe!) however, later on in the night 4 guys mugged him and stole his passport and I-phone. So we had to walk to the police station and report the stolen stuff. After we got that taken care of we went to a club called jamoree. It was really cool, its underground and you can see actual ancient roman ruins. We danced again till 5:30am. 

Day 4 and 5, Barcelona

After staying out till 5am... we slept in till about 1 in the afternoon. When we woke up we went to the beach, had lunch and just sat on the beach. It was warm but not warm enough for the beach, it was too windy. We stayed in that night because we were still tired from the night before. The next day we went out to lunch with Sarahs fathers business friends who are from Spain. We went to a restaurant right on the marina. Spain is really big on seafood and I hate seafood so I ended up getting steak. But I tried traditional spanish dishes just to try them, but I didn't like them at all. but at-least I tried them.

Day 3, Barcelona

On Sunday Madison and I went to the Picaso Museum which was really cool. We went back tot he apt and realized we had no more hot water. Maggie one of my  roomates really needed to take a shower so I got in the tub she put her head back and with freezing water we quickly washed her head. It was freezing her eyes started to water. I felt bad but it was so funny at the same time. Later that night we went to a place called Mojito Club. We read about it in a guide book. Once we got there everyone was hard core salsa dancing. Like everyone was a professional dancer. I felt like we were in the movie dirty dancing when she walks in and is amazed by the dancing and she stands awkwardly in the corner watching. We stayed for a while and watched but then took a cab to this club called Catwalk. When we got to Catwalk it was a 18E cover charge!!!!!! I was pissed but we just took a cab so we went it. It was really big there were go go dancers which were pretty funny. I got a drink because it was included in the entrance fee. I asked for vodka and oj. They put vodka in a glass half way and gave me a oj bottle .. they didn't even mix it I had to carry two things around with me all night. I ended up finding a great dance partner whom I danced with all night. He was so funny we were doing spins and such. He told me he loved me and I was like.. you don't even know me.. you don't love me..... and he was like NOOOOOo I LOVE YOU. and he was like can i take a picture with you so I took a picture with him and wanted to be facebook friends with me so I gave him a fake name. We stayed at Catwalk to 5am. Because things in Barcelona don't close till 6am!

Day two, Barcelona

On Sat we slept in and actually went to La Rambalas! We basically shopped all day. This street is filled with crazy street performers. There were people dressed like trees, people dressed like gargoyles, people on toilets, crazy. I wonder how much they make on a daily basis? Barcelona is really big in comparison to Florence. It is way more modern and the architecture is very different and unique. There is a lot of Gaudi architecture there. Gaudi is a famous/ crazy architect. Sat night we just stayed in b/c we were really tired. 

Day one Spring Break 09! Barcelona, Spain

We left on a Friday. When we were at the airport the airline told us they wouldn't be able to put the luggage on the plane because it was so windy outside. The plane was full and if they put the luggage on they wouldn't be able to take off. So once we boarded the plane it was already rocking back and forth as if we were on water. Once the plane took off, I thought I was going to die. It was the most terrifying plane ride of my life. I was gripping the seat, my palms were sweating and I just closed my eyes. I thought I was going to throw up. The plane felt like the hollywood tower of terror ride in disney mgm studies it was up and down un and down.....terrifying. Once we got above the clouds it was fine and I fell asleep. Barcelona is only a 2 hour plane ride from Florence. Once we got to florence my roomate Sarahs father had arranged a driver to pick us up and bring us to the apt we had rented for the week. We got to the apt dropped off our stuff and instantly went on a search for food. We ended up going to this place called Friss a smoothie place that had food. I got a pizza that looked like a gell art candle.. It made me sick later on. After food we went to Starbucks (because we do not have them in florence) we sat in the park and drank those bad boys down. Afterwards we went home took naps and got ready to go out. When it was time to go out we hailed a cab and told the cab driver to take us to La Rambalas ...a major street in Barcelona that has stores, bars and restaurants. We had no idea where we were going.. the cab driver took us to a marina and when we got out of the cab this guy from a restaurant was like heyyy come inside and eat.. so we did but we had no idea what was going on. We later realized that the driver dropped us off about ten min from where we wanted to be and that she was probaly paid by the restaurant to drop us off there. After dinner we walked to La Rambalas and met up with some friends from school that were also on spring break we went to this bar called cheers and drank there for the rest of the night.

The rest of the weekend with friends

Friday and Saturday we walked around all day and went out at night. Saturday night Madison and I prepared a feast for our friends and we all just chatted. Sunday I hung out with Madison and her Mom she just got in we went out to lunch and walked around. I spent the rest of the day and Today (Monday) studying for my midterms which start tomorrow. This is a really boring post, I apologize they will be more juicy soon because I am leaving for Barcelona on Friday wooooo!

So far this week

Monday was a boring day, I pretty much read the entire day because I had to finish "Homo Faber" for my literature class the next day. This proved to be a difficult challenge due to the beautiful weather. The last thing that I wanted to be doing was inside reading, but it had to be done. I also walked over to Hotel River to check out the room my dad is staying in for him. It is beautiful and very close to my apt. Tuesday I had class all day from 9am- 8:30pm. Fashion Marketing, Italian, Literature and then my food class. In my food class we made gnocchi! We boiled potatoes and then once they were soft you squish them through a press you then mix it with an egg, flour and some cheese. You roll the dough out and cut it into little chunks, then you throw them in water and wait for them to float. The sauce was- black cabbage, oil oil, chopped tomatoes, salt and some garlic. We put that in a pot and let it reduce. We also cooked some fresh sausage with red wine and olive oil then combined to the two and put it over the gnocchi, it came out great and I am going to try to make it when I get home. After class I finally booked some trips that I will be going on later. On April 10th -13 I will be going to Amsterdam to visit my friend Janne who lives there. She studied abroad in America at my school in the fall and I became good friends with her. I am excited to see her in her own environment, and to have her take us around b/c I have no idea how to speak dutch. on April 16-19 I am going to the Amalphi coast and capri and on April 30-May 4 I will be going to Greece! April is going to be a very busy month, my dad and sharon are also visiting the first week of April. Wednesday I went to class, went for a run and went to this new bar called Rex Cafe. The atmosphere was great.We also went to the Lions Pub where everyone was drinking and watching a soccer game on the T.V soccer is so big here they get so into it. Thursday I went to Italian and after Italian we met 5 of our friends from Champlain who are on their spring break. They are all studying in Dublin, Ireland and came to visit on there break. It was so weird to be with them in Italy, I never though it would happen. What is even weirder is that they are going to be in Barcelona the same time we are and Amsterdam and we didn't even plan it! We took them around to the sights, it was funny to wait for them to take pictures, I felt like a local (which I am clearly not) but I didn't feel like a tourist! wooooo! We went to Tijuanas obviously (it was thursday) ordered pitchers of margaritas for the 12 of us to share and had a good time. After dinner we went to The lions pub and twice, it was a good night. Our friends are here till Sunday so we will have to show them a good time.

Venice

Sunday I went to Venice with some of my roommates. It was a 3 hour train ride and as soon as you get close your surroundings change from green hills to water like that. I didn't realize how much I missed a large body of water until we got to Venice. At home I obviously have the ocean and at school I have lake Champlain. Living in Florence there is the Arno but it is a very dirty river, not the same. Anyways as soon as you walk out of the train station you feel like you have stepped onto a movie set. There is a bridge and canal right in front of you. The streets of Venice are a lot more narrow than Florence. The streets are lined with stores selling masks for carnival, there was even confetti still on the street left over from the celebrations. We had no destination in mind we just wondered around. We eventually ended up near a row of gondolas. A gondola ride is about 20E per person but we all thought it was worth it. The four of us got in the boat and met Nicola our adorable "gondolear" (however you spell it) He told us there are 425 bridges in venice an 132 churches (don't quote me on that) He also told us that he is a marketing major like me, that he grew up in Venice and plans to stay there now that he has this job. He says growing up in Venice isn't that great because there really isn't anything to do there as a child it gets boring. I asked him if the gondolears ever have battles and he said they are all friendly with one another, sometimes they have races but it is all in good fun. Nicola let us all try on his hat and told us other fun facts about Venice along our 3k ride through the grand canal. After our ride we kept walking until we reached the San Marco church. We stopped took tons of picture and continued to walk along the major body of water. This area of Venice reminded me a lot of Newport, RI with all the boats and the old buildings and the smell, made me feel oddly at home. We sat down for a while with our feet hanging over the wall and just looked at the water, it was beautiful. We decided to head back to the station and as we were walking back my phone rang and Auntie (flava flav) Renee called me (SHOUT OUT) it was a pleasant surprise. She jokingly told me I only write about food and gelato in my blogs, so I told her I would try to make them more juicy. When we got to the train station 2nd class tickets were sold out so we had to get first class tickets home which was annoying but they had nice chairs. So far I have been to Rome, Milan, Florence, Pisa and now Venice, and have to say that Venice is my favorite. There isn't much to do there, unless you are with a lover and spending a romantic weekend. Venice is so beautiful and unique, which is why I fell in love with it.

I don't want Kat to leave

All week my friend Kat from Champlain has been showing us all her favorite places in Florence. On Wednesday night we went out to dinner at Chero and Sons, one of the best meals I have ever had. I ordered a filet of beef with truffle and roasted potatoes. We drank this amazing white wine that can only be found in that restaurant, had amazing desert strawberry cheesecake and desert wine. The food was so good the second I placed my steak in my mouth I was in heaven. After dinner we went to go see a rapper named Pitbull at a club called Space. It wasn't that fun because there were so many people, so many drunk girls who were trying to grab the rappers attention. I had a dance battle with one girl who was flipping her hair in front of us and was annoying us. So I took my hair down and just flipped it in her face. Then a speaker fell on my friend which was the last straw. We moved to the back of the club because we couldn't deal with the drunk girls in front. Pitbull didn't come on till 1:45am. He was trying to get everyone all hyped up but in fact he just pissed everyone off b/c it took him so long to come out. When he finally did come out he didn't have that great of stage presence, I could have listened to the radio at home and heard the same thing, o well. Thursday night we went to Tijuanas for Tijuana Thursday happy hour our tradition and got 3.50 Euro margaritas and chicken quesadillas. After dinner we went to Moyo and then twice and danced for the rest of the evening. This morning we all slept in and when we all finally woke up we were happy to find that it was nice out, it had been raining all week. We got dressed went to the oil shope got delicious subs and walked around. We also walked across the bridge to the other side of the river and went to Piazzale Michelangelo. You walk up a bunch of steps and once you get to the top there is the most breathtaking view of florence. We took a bunch of funny pictures saw the sights and overall had a great day! Kat is leaving to go back to Burlington tomorrow :( but I am so glad she came.

VIP

Saturday my friend Kat from school came to visit. She studied abroad in Florence last spring and had to come back. That night we went all over the place because she new all the great places to go. We went to dinner at a restaurant called Yellow which is pretty much a real version of the olive garden. It is a family restaurant filled with Italians (not very many Americans) which I liked. I ordered pasta carbanara and it was soo good. After dinner we naturally went to Grom and got gelatto, I got mandarin and dark chocolate an excellent combo. I also sampled pink grapefruit, hazelnut and pear. After gelato we went to a bar called Astor and had a drink some strawberry drink that had crushed strawberries, the bar was very cool inside great ambiance. After Astor we went to a pub called Friends it is an Irish pub run by asians in Italy catered to American students which I found funny. After that we went to a club called Twice, when we got inside my friend Kat ran into a club promoter who she knew and we got VIP access and danced the night away, it was great. We could dance and didn't have to worry about the gross Italian men trying to dance with us, there was literally a guy on the platform yelling at guys to get off, we felt very bad ass. Sunday and Monday were very low key it was raining we just walked around and went into a few stores. We tried to go to "the best pizza place in florence" by cab because it was far away but it was closed. Siesta is really annoying so many stores just close at random times during the day. Today, Tuesday I just finished two classes and went to this panni shop called the Oil shope and got a chicken, mozzarella, pesto, lettuce and tomato grilled panni and it was amazing, a hidden gem. I have two more classes today one from 3-5:30 and one from 6-8:30, who knows what I will do after.

Pisa

This morning at 10:00am I went with my fashion marketing class to the Salvatore Ferragamo shoe museum. It was really cool they had receipts from Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe. They also had molds of there feet on display b/c they had custom made shoes. After the museum I went home for a quick lunch and headed to the train station to go on a day trip to Pisa. After an hour and half train ride we were there. Once you get out of the station you have to walk straight for about 15-20 min bare to the left and you will see the leaning tower and the Duomo in front of you. When you get to the actual tower it is funny because there are people all over the place sticking an arm out or a leg trying to get the infamous leaning tower tourist picture. Madison and I tried several times in various locations and finally we got it! I had to stand on top of something and lean over a fence to get the money shot! There isn't that much in Pisa besides the tower so we basically walked around took pictures and left. It was a beautiful day so we lucked out. 

A Monday in Milan

Monday morning Madison and I woke up early and left for the train station, a ten min walk from our apartment. The train ride was about 2 1/2 hours I just slept and read. The train station in Milan is huge and beautiful. The hotel we were staying at was within walking distance from the train station so we made our way to Hotel Napolean. Madison has a family friend Named Elio who lives in Italy and was in Milan for business. He was our tour guide for the day. We went to lunch, went to the main piazza where the duomo was. So big, so many pigeons, so pretty. We went inside of the Duomo, which is a church and walked around inside. We basically saw all the sights. Everyone in Milan is dressed to impress, it is the fashion capital so it makes sense. That night we went out to a very  nice restaurant, it is so nice having someone who speaks Italian with you, it is so  much easier and convenient, I really hope I can learn it eventually. Milan is very different from Florence, it is much bigger and more commercial, I liked it but prefer Florence. I am going back with my fashion marketing class in April so I shall return.

Austerlitz

Currently I am eating a spoonful of Nutella dipped in rice crispy cereal and it is an amazing combination let me tell you. This weekend we stayed in Florence. Thursday night we went back to our new favorite Mexican restaurant Tijuana's for happy hour and mexican food. It was so good but I felt so full afterwards. Once we got back to the apt we convinced everyone to go out b/c at that point not all 8 of us had gone out all together once, so we went to a bar called Lochness which was very nice, it reminded me of the inside of a genie bottle. Saturday day I read a book entitled Austerliz all day. It is for my European Lit class and is 417  pages of boring. It takes me so long to read and when I do make progress I have no idea what I had just read. After reading all day I needed to get outside so Sarah and I ran along the Arno on the bike path. It was so beautiful the sun was setting over the river when we were heading back. Saturday night we had some drinks at the house and then Sarah and I wanted Mojitos so we decided to go to Moyo. Bad idea. The cute Italian bar tenders who "love American girls" gave us shots along with our drinks so sarah and I quickly became very tipsy. We went to the bathroom and I broke the flusher off the wall b/c for some reason I decided to kick it instead of push it, at the time I thought it was a really great idea, so we just ran away. The rest of our roomates met up with us at Moyo and we went to Glamour a night club where we danced for the rest of the evening. When I finally came home I passed out.  We all stayed in on saturday night and rested. Today  I woke up read more Austerlitz went for a run outside. It was so beautiful out today, around 50 degrees. I decided to go sit along the Arno and read yes you got it more austerlitz. Madison and I took a break and headed to the train station to pick up our tickets for Milan, which I am going to tomorrow. Today was the last day of carnival so there were people all over the place with masks, children dressed in costumes throwing confetti, one little girl skipped right up to me and through some in my face, she came out of no where and scared the crap out of me. After we got the tickets we can back and went back to reading(I have to finish for tuesday) I accidentally made 2lbs of rice, shared it with the roomies and now I am back to reading....bahhhhh, when I finish I am going to take a victory lap. 

Uffizi Gallery

Today I was woken up early by some Italian electricians who came to put a censor on our light I guess. Since I was up I went to the gym and pumped it! Later on I went to my Love sex and marriage class. We visited the Uffizi Gallery with our class and saw a lot of famous paintings such as Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "La Primavera." It was really cool to get an art history lesson and see the actual painting in front of you rather than a slide. The only bad thing about the class is that there is a group of kids in it that don't give a shit. During the entire lesson they stood in the back in a circle and talked while our teacher told us about each painting. I found it really ignorant of them. They are in Italy looking at very famous historical paintings and are on their blackberrys ...are you serious! Why would you take that class/ come to Italy if you are not interested in learning about the culture. At one point I said something to them because they were pissing me off, and later on a girl came up to me and said thanks for saying something to them, they were getting on my nerves, and it wasn't just today every single class they talk. Know the types of guys who think everything they say is so cool but they are really obnoxious.. that is what they are like BAH sorry about that tangent! Anyways after class I went got a cafe latte grande via porta bought some more books for my lit class and went to Ganzo for dinner. I can't believe tomorrow is already Thursday which means it is the weekend! I have fun day trips planned so I am excited.

Ciao

Ganzo!

Yesterday I made my first big purchase.....a brown adorable leather jacket which I will add to my car tab and pay back my dad for because quote "I'm paying for you to have fun not go shopping" which I knew.. but I wanted it and I plan on sleeping in it, bathing in it, cooking in it, giving birth to my first child in it, Jk... I love it so I don't mind paying for it, worth it! That was about all that happened yesterday. Today Tuesday was my day filled with classes from 9am-8:30pm. Fashion Marketing was good we discussed what a brands Image really means and watched a movie about Victor and Rolf two fashion designers from the Netherlands and how they launched there brand. In Italian we learned about masculine and feminine nouns and that the word Ganzo.. is a slang term for Cool here in florence... I have been using it all day with the word Allorah which means so, Italians use it all the time it is like the work like in english they say it all the time. So I say allorah ganzo.. which isn't correct but I think its funny. After Italian I had a quick lunch break and then was off to my european english class were we discussed the book Periera Declares. After Lit I walked to my Florence cooking class. Today we didn't cook anything because we went on a walking tour of the hidden gems in florence. First we went to a little shop where we had truffle sandwiches, which is a type of mushroom paste. Next we went to a restaurant that served us red wine and all types of spreads on bread. I tried a spinach and sundried tomato, chicken liver patte, cheese, salsa and a salami. The boy that served us was 16 years old and was named Andrew, he didnt speak much english and was trying to talk to us, it was pretty funny, he was trying to impress all the American girls and our teacher was talking to him and making fun of him. Our last stop was Grom, which is a gelato shop. We tried a nutella flavored gelato straight from the mixer. The man who worked there told us how to know your having good gelato. He said if a place has a gelato flavor that is out of season like strawberry than it means it has a lot of preservatives. If the gelato is out on display like in most shops then it is filled with air, good gelato is kept away. After the sample I got a scoop of cafe and a scoop of dark chocolate and it was amazing! Thats all for today.

Ciao

Chocolate!

This weekend I stayed in Florence. Thursday night my roomates and I went to this mexican restaurant for happy hour and it was delishious we plan on going back every thursday. Later that night we went to Twice a night club and danced the night away. Friday night we ate at this Sushi place that was really good and went out to a club called glamour and danced the night away again. Saturday we took the bus to a small town that is about 15min away. There was a chocolate festival going on so naturally we had to go. When we got there it wasn't what we had expected but still fun, when chocolate is involved you will always enjoy yourself. I got hot chocolate that litteraly was melted chocolate in a cup I could only handle a few sips. I also got some other tasty treats and ate them all, it was Valentines day I had to treat myself! When we got back we went to Moyo for apertif I had two mojitos walked home and passed out at 8:30. Two nights of intense dancing till 3am really catches up with you. Today Sunday I woke up went to the gym, walked around the market, went grocery shopping, read and relaxed. This weekend was nice and relaxing!

486 Steps

This morning I woke up early because I wanted to go to the gym before my 12:00 class. At first I didn't want to get out of bed but then I knew I had to get back into my working out routine! I finally got myself to the gym worked out and felt much better about myself. I felt really awkward walking to the gym in my gym clothes because all the Italians were staring at me. Oh well. After I got ready I went to class. During class our teacher gave us all head sets and we went on a walking tour of Florence. There is so much history it is overwhelming. The final stop on our walking tour was the Duomo. We walked up to the top. We walked up 486 steps, very very steep steps to get to the top, but once you got to the top it was worth being completely out of breath. The view from the top was absolutely beautiful, you could see all of florence and the surrounding mountains. After we took in all the sights we headed back down, which was much easier. When we got to the bottom our legs were shaking. Starving and tired I went home made some lunch talked to some friends on skype and just hung out. I just got back from a gelato place called Grom, which is supposed to be the best place in time, b/c it is not touristy. It was excellent, I will definitely go back. Now I am tired and probably going to go to bed soon.

Allorah

I woke up with a mission. I needed to find notebooks! There are no staples or wallmarts here, they do not sell them in grocery stores only in speciality stores. I went back to this one place that a woman at the front desk of my school had mentioned and realized it went out of business. I walked a block and stumbled upon a stationary shop and Finally got some school supplies. Afterwards I went back to Roberto Cavalli to take some more notes for the paper I had to write. When I got home I had some lunch charged m laptop and headed over to the corner cafe where I had a cafe latte and worked on my paper, it was  quite lovely doing my work in a little Italian cafe, once my computer died I headed back to my apartment and finished it in time to go check out this Italian gym that is 5min from my apt. I had a free trial card so I wanted to check it out. I went with my roomate maggie and worked out for half an hour and than took a hip hop class they were offering. The instructor didn't really talk the entire time, everyone just followed along. It was really fun and I plan on going back. After pumpin it at the gym I made myself some dinner showered and just hung out for the rest of the evening.

Trip to Rome

On Friday 2-6-09 my roomates and I got on a train to Roma! While on the train, I was humped by a nasty Italian man so I started off the trip with a bang literally! Once we got off the metro we made our way to the hostel called happy days which was very close to the vatican. We dropped off all of our stuff in our room and hit the ground running. We walked to the the Vatican and went to visit the sistine chapel, there were no lines which was amazing! After we went to the vatican we went back and took a much needed nap. After my nap we went out to dinner at this exclusive Italian restaurant .. we were the only americans in there, it was delish. I had lasagne but instead of pasta it was made with a tortia type bread soo good. We slept woke up and took a bus to the colosseum some people from the hostel had made tin foil weapons and armor so we brought it with us and battled one another inside. We walked around the Roman forum, visited the spanish steps and the Trevi fountain. We walked so much, we walked from one end of the city to the next, and my thighs are throbbing! On saturday night we went out to a club with some of the people from the hostle which was really fun! The others were from, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Argentina and Canada. 

COFFEE TO GO

Today I had my first love sex and marriage class. It went well it is packed with students and the teacher is very eccentric/ goes off on a lot of tangents. She said we will be doing a lot of walking around Florence in the class which is great news. During our break I noticed that a girl in my class had a to go coffee cup, and I was pumped I went right away and got a cafe latte in a to go cup and it made my day. After class I went to go get some class text books and ran into some friends from home! After walking around forever we decided to go to Ganzo the restaurant that is run by my school. Surprisingly it was delicious. This is a boring post k bye.

First day of classes

This morning I woke up at 7:15 showered and got ready for my first day of classes! I grabbed a cappuccino and walked in the rain to my first class fashion marketing. The class seems pretty cool we already have a 6 page paper due on the image of high end fashion stores in Florence. We have to go and look at everything about a store from a marketing point of view. The class is going to be really interesting we are going on a trip to milano and going on a tour of the Ferragamo shoe museum. The class was from 9-11:15, Madison and I quickly had to walk to the "SQuala" for our Italian class. After Italian I had an hour break, I went home and inhaled my eggplant parmesan that I made the night before. I took a power nap and work up for my next class European Lit class. This class is going to be a bit intense we are going to read 9 books over the semester and have a lot of discussions. After Euro Lit we went to our Florence food and culture class. The teacher is a bit intimidating she is very proud to be a Tuscan. Her goal is to get us the students to really expand their pallets and distinguish good from bad food here in Florence. We had bread with cheese, toasted chestnut honey drizzled over it with a bit of orange zest, things I would never think to combine but it was really good! Today was a long day.. straight classes from 9am-8pm and now I am very tired and happy to be relaxing! Currently my roomates and I are sitting in our little living room planning our trip to Rome this weekend!

I just want a cup of coffee

Today I made sure I didn't sleep in so I woke up at 10 and ventured through the rain to the grocery store. It is quite difficult to shop in Italian but we all were pretty successful. Once we got home we just hung around because from 1-4 seista is going on and all the stores shut down. We then ventured out in hopes of finding a coffee maker/ coffee. We went to a cafe and I ordered cafe and got an americano Italians don't drink coffee they drink espresso black. They also charge you to sit down about 2E if.. so you can stand up at the bar and sip on your espresso. an Americano is espresso with water added to it. I had to ask for more water and milk in order to get it down. Once I finally finished my cafe I felt like I was drunk and dizzy due to the intense amount of caffeine I had just consumed. Whitney and I tried to find a coffee maker around the city but we had no luck and I ended up buying a cute pair of black boots instead :). Our next plan of action was to get instant coffee so we did and we will see how it turns out tomorrow morning. I might go to this pub called the red garter later tonight to watch the super bowl which should be a good time. 

IKEA Adventure!

Last night we went out dancing and had a blast and came home at 3:00am and passed out. I woke up at 2:00pm and was disgusted with myself. I have never slept so late in my life. The shutters in my rooms make the room pitch black so if I do wake up it still seems like it is the middle of the night. Once my roomates and I all got dressed and ready we decided to make a trip to IKEA to get some things for the apartment that we needed. We had heard there was a free shuttle to the store near the train station. For some reason we didnt ask for directions and walked for ever. Our feet hurt and we were all starving. We got some food and then found a McDonalds...I never go to McDonalds but for some reason I instantly wanted fries...When we finally got to the bus station we couldn't find the IKEA bus anywhere. We got on a public transportation bus payed 2 euros and got dropped off near IKEA.....we knew that this wasnt right but finally we had made it. I had never been to an IKEA before and was quite overwhelmed by its size, options and lack of english (b/c I am in fact in Italy) Once we got some bowls, tupperware, new sheats it was 8:00pm we didn't know how we were going to get back so this time we asked and a man pointed us to a spot where the infamous shuttle is supposed to come. We waited for a while and a coach bus with Ikea all over it showed up and dropped us off right where we started. On the bus we looked at the map and realized we walked so far out of the way it was insane. Luckily if i ever go again I know how to get there. Everyone is so tired from our IKEA adventure that we are going to stay in an watch movies. I plan on setting my alarm so I don't sleep so late in the morning. 

IKEA Adventure!

Last night we went out dancing and had a blast and came home at 3:00am and passed out. I woke up at 2:00pm and was disgusted with myself. I have never slept so late in my life. The shutters in my rooms make the room pitch black so if I do wake up it still seems like it is the middle of the night. Once my roomates and I all got dressed and ready we decided to make a trip to IKEA to get some things for the apartment that we needed. We had heard there was a free shuttle to the store near the train station. For some reason we didnt ask for directions and walked for ever. Our feet hurt and we were all starving. We got some food and then found a McDonalds...I never go to McDonalds but for some reason I instantly wanted fries...When we finally got to the bus station we couldn't find the IKEA bus anywhere. We got on a public transportation bus payed 2 euros and got dropped off near IKEA.....we knew that this wasnt right but finally we had made it. I had never been to an IKEA before and was quite overwhelmed by its size, options and lack of english (b/c I am in fact in Italy) Once we got some bowls, tupperware, new sheats it was 8:00pm we didn't know how we were going to get back so this time we asked and a man pointed us to a spot where the infamous shuttle is supposed to come. We waited for a while and a coach bus with Ikea all over it showed up and dropped us off right where we started. On the bus we looked at the map and realized we walked so far out of the way it was insane. Luckily if i ever go again I know how to get there. Everyone is so tired from our IKEA adventure that we are going to stay in an watch movies. I plan on setting my alarm so I don't sleep so late in the morning. 

1-30-09

Today was a low key day. We woke up early to show our passports to some Italian official to prove we were who we said we were. I then went back to bed for a while because I am still not quite adjusted to the time change, I stay up way later than I normally do. When I woke up from my nap I walked around and finally got some bras, because I didn't bring any...... after shopping and successfully asking for 2 cappchinos in Italian I went on a walking tour of Florence and learned where all my classes were located. There are several buildings spread throughout the city and a 15min walking distance at most from building to building. I'm pretty glad about all the walking so I don't have to feel so guilty about all the pasta and gelato I consume. I also made my first dinner tonight in our little kitchen and did the dishes after I was done..by hand... My dad would be proud. Tonight we are going to some club called "Space electronica" where Study Abroad Italy is having a welcome party.. it should be interesting with a name like space electronica.

First few days in Florence

I arrived in Florence at 3:30am our time and felt nauseous because I was so tired and that I was going to die. I got my bags and was picked up by a study abroad italy representative. I went to the SAI office checked in and got some paper work. I moved into the apartment which is huge and in the center of everything. I am living with 7 other girls. 3 are from Texas, 2 from NY one from Chicago and one from VT. All the girls are really nice I lucked out. Florence is beautiful and so old! I have been eating a lot of pasta and drinking wine. My roommates and I have just been wondering around exploring and getting aquatinted as best we can. There are definitely a lot of new things to get used to such as speaking italian, short showers, huge heavy doors with very complicated locks, pushing doors open instead of pulling, elevators, making my own dinner the list goes on... but I'm excited to learn the ways of the Italians.

Ciao