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.