May 31, 2009

Fiorentina vs. AC Milan!

I'm going on a diet, it's official. Today I had a sandwich the size of my head for lunch. A large slice of pizza for dinner. And then I had two gelatos. Two gelatos, after dinner. Just because I wanted them. I'm going to be the size of an elephant by the time I get home.

Today was fun! I finally got to sleep in and get as much sleep as I wanted and then I got ready and we met up with Jordan's friend David and his friends Katon and Emily and we all went to lunch and then to the FIORENTINA vs AC MILAN game at 3. We lost 2-0, but atleast we got to see David Beckham since he plays for AC Milan.

After the game we hung out and then got dinner around 7:30 and since then we've been talking, facebooking, gchatting, and attempting to finish hw and read.

I love european football.

May 30, 2009

Monterroso in Cinque Terre


Basilica di San Francesco, Assisi

I am about to pass out from exhaustion, really.

I've taken eating to new highs - today for dinner I ate two large pieces of bruschetta, AN ENTIRE FREAKING PIZZA, and still had room for dessert afterwards. I can already feel it all being unhealthy in my stomach and I sort of would like to throw it all up.

Yesterday we went to Assisi for our class excursion. It was actually a pretty fun trip. We first got there and went to the Basilica of San Francesco. I learned a very important lesson there - I really should NOT read in cars and buses. Here's how it happened: I read on the bus and became very bus-sick. Then I still felt sick when we got to the Basilica. Once we were inside, not only did I become really pale, but I felt like I was going to throw up AND I kept blacking in and out. So I had to go sit outside the basilica for a little while and regain my composure and my eyesight. What a start to the day! Oy.

Then I still felt sick but I could see so I went back in. After seeing the basilica, we took a break for lunch and I think I napped with my bag as a pillow while Jordan read her book. The break was so fast, and then we went to climb this fortress! It was then that I remembered how much I love climbing things and I explored all over the place. I wish so badly that I could have stayed longer because it was awesome. Then we visited two other churches, San Rufino, and Santa Chiara, and then got on the bus to get to our restaurant for dinner!

Anthony officially calls me "champ" now, which I love. For example: "hey champ, how are you feeling now?" Basically, he's my favorite teacher ever. Dinner wasn't as good as last week, but still entertaining. The professors encouraged more drinking and people got roudy, as usual. When we got home from dinner I fell asleep after uploading my pictures.

Today we got up fairly early and took a train to Cinque Terre. From La Spezia, we went to Monterosso, and we got our tickets for everything. We checked out each town and traveled to each one by train. When they said small towns, they really meant small. Literally, some of them are smaller than the size of my neighborhood at home. But they were really pretty and really cute, and I enjoyed myself. We stopped for some gelato in Corniglia and for pesto pizza in Vernazza. SO delicious. Around 3:30 we got to Riomaggiore (the last town) and started hiking. There are four trails, but we only ended up doing the first three since we would have run out of time for the fourth.

The trails got harder as we went, but the views were incredible! We then stopped in Vernazza for dinner at this really cute place, got some more gelato, and then got on a train and headed home. I fell asleep again and Jordan read her book again (pattern, anyone?) We got back into our room around 10:30 and since then I've been uploading, editing, and working on choosing pictures for Facebook. I took a shower like half an hour ago and now I'm waiting for my pictures to be uploaded to Facebook but it might not happen tonight.

Once my head hits the pillow, I'll be out. Hiking for two hours and walking all day is exhausting.

May 28, 2009

Boboli Gardens!

Ciao ragazzi!

Tuesday was a good day - we just shopped till we dropped (basically). Ended up eating dinner at the hotel instead of going out because we were so so full from lunch. And then we were really lame and went to bed kind of early. I still don't feel like I've caught up on sleep from Monday night, which is not that great.

Yesterday! We finally had our oral exam and I think it went pretty well. I forgot to bring my props to school though, which made it kind of sad. Also, we screwed up, which was not that great either. HA. That's ok though, I love italiano. After that I met up with my sister around 1, and we hung out in the Duomo and then on this bench right outside Paperback Exchange and we walked around and ran some errands.

Then Nancy came and me, Suhas, Nancy, and Jordan went to get gelato from our favorite gelato place (La Carraia) and went to the Boboli Gardens. They were pretty, mostly. I have decided that I want to build myself a palace with gardens SO badly. Or I just want to be rich enough that I can buy the Pitti Palace in Florence and just move in. (The Boboli Gardens are part of the Pitti Palace.)

We shopped a little afterward and then came back and looked up the gardens online, only to find that we'd completely missed like 3/4ths of the gardens. SO we're going to have to go back at some point and explore the rest. We thought we were doing a good job too - we'd found some pretty cool secret nooks and crannies. Oh well, I guess I'll never be Christopher Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci.

Then we went out to dinner at Il Gatto e La Volpe and it was SO good. I've decided I'm going to stop ordering two courses at places because I literally barely finished my first course and could not eat my second. I was so so so so full. PLUS SIDE - didn't have to get lunch today haha. I loved having my sister here, and it was super nice to see her. After dinner they left to go back since they were leaving for France this morning and we came back to study for our exam.

I didn't study AT ALL. Oh well.

Today I finished Marshmallows for Breakfast. I'm starting my sixth book of the summer today, I hope it's good. I gave up on reading the classics. I'm going to start on reading Oprah Book Club Books, News York Times Bestsellers, and Bestsellers from Amazon.com.

I also did nothing all day, until we ate dinner and went for a little walk. Now i'm probably just going to read for two hours and then go to bed. This is the life.

May 26, 2009

Monday night at I Visacci!

The past day and a half have been so much fun. Sunday after we got back we were pretty exhausted so we just spent the evening recovering and stuff. Florence is so weirdly my home now, but I love it. Whenever we take trips out somewhere, we always talk about going back home to our beds and our computers, even though we live in what is essentially a dorm room. I love my roomie and this place though - I can't believe I'm on week three!

Yesterday my sister and Nancy showed up in Florence and I was so excited! After Italian class we just hung out and had lunch and then I met up with them. We shopped around, came back to Hotel Villani, got some money, walked around, looked at their photos, uploaded their photos, went and saw some of the sights, and just chilled. I got back in time for dinner, and after dinner we all got ready and went out!

It was a lot of fun. We started at i vissaci, then headed to the Fish Pub, then to Lion's Fountain, and finally to Yab, which was this hopping club. It was definitely a good night.

Except waking up in the morning for class kind of sucks. We had Italian only for like an hour today and then Renaissance class wasn't too bad. Professor Ciacarelli told us some good news - we don't actually have a midterm on Thursday. Instead, we're all going to sit around and "chat" about what we've learned so far. Basically, I love that man.

Today will be chill - lunch, shopping, napping, then going out to dinner, and then working on our prova orale for Italian tomorrow. This week is going by fast, and this weekend will be a lot of fun. We're doing Assisi and Cinque Terre, so we'll see some culture, and then we'll just beach it up and soak in the view and even hike a little.

I love Florence.

May 24, 2009

Gondola!

Hi! I got back from Venice today and it was really fun!



The Irish pub crawl that I talked about earlier was very entertaining and a great deal. You pay 15 euro, and then you get unlimited sangria at the first bar, go to two more bars, and then go to Space Club, which is a "discotheca" in Florence. We ended up having so much fun, but we got creeped on a lot too haha.

Saturday we woke up late and went and bought a straightener since all my converters and adapters and voltage thingies broke AND my straightener won't work anymore. We got a pretty good deal, I'm pleased with the purchase.

We got to Venice around 5 pm and checked into our hostel - RIGHT ON THE FREAKING GRAND CANAL. I looked out of my window, and I see the canal. It was amazing. Also, there were two very attractive guys in my room, which was kind of a plus. Lol. That night we took a gondola ride and walked around Venice and found the boardwalk. Then we had dinner at this cute little place in Campo Santa Margherita and sat at dinner for a long time. We got ice cream on the boardwalk - at one of the most famous gelato places in Venice. Then back to Campo Santa Margherita for drinks (Happy Hour = Buy 2, get 1 free)

While we were walking around, we got accosted by a drunk British stranger who

1) Picked on Ian and told him he would get robbed because of his American accent
2) Asked me for directions and asked me to put my number on MY map for him
3) Said some other inappropriate things that cannot be said here - ask me and I'll tell you

Sunday we ended up seeing Piazza San Marco and shopped a lot and read in the garden in Venice too. It was a nice, relaxing weekend. We took the Eurostar back, but I didn't think it was all that it was cracked up to be.

Now I'm back in Florence, I uploaded photos, and I need to shower because I feel so icky. ALSO, I am sad because I can't find my spare contacts anywhere, and it sort of freaks me out a little.

Bye!

May 22, 2009

Once again, it's May 23 here, but barely, so I'll act like it's May 22.

I've decided I hate two things about Italians:

1) THEY ALL CHAIN SMOKE
2) THE PDA IS UNBEARABLE BECAUSE FAT GIRLS GET WITH SKINNY GUYS

Today was fun! We didn't have any classes, so we got up around like 9ish and we took a train to Pisa at 10:30. Pisa is the most boring Italian city so far - we ended up walking around, eating lunch at a delicious sandwich place (mine had eggplant and cheese and tomato and lettuce), and then going up to the top of the Leaning Tower. Going up was SO worth it - the view was amazing and the breeze was nice and it was just surreal.

We left pretty early - got back here around five. I went to the ATM and then just hung out until dinner, which was served early today - THANK GOODNESS. I was starving. Then we went on the Irish pub crawl, and it was a surprisingly good evening. We got back around an hour ago, but we're not tired yet so we've just been hanging out.

I can't remember any funny jokes from tonight, but I feel like I have a lot. Look forward to pictures soon!

May 21, 2009

Karaoke at Lion's Fountain!


Girls pregaming tonight!

Ciao! It's technically May 22 here, but its May 21 at home and its barely May 22, so I think this counts.

I tried to study hardcore for my exam for last night, but I really just ended up facebooking all night after dinner and only sort of studying. This morning we had another surprise Renaissance class. Apparently "classes on Tuesday and Wednesday" means Thursday as well, because we also have Renaissance class next Thursday, when we have a quiz.

Today was really nice though. We had Renaissance and l'italiano switched, so we went to this pretty museum early in the day (Museo San Marco) and then we went to class - and we had it at the hotel today, so we didn't have to walk all the way to the institute we usually go to. Had lunch at some place called Forno (which isn't as good at Cuicollo, which is one of my favorite food places here) and then we shopped. Except shopping was a fail for two reasons:

1) We couldn't find the cute boutique that I SWEAR we saw yesterday on our way to the chapel.
2) We got to this awesome market at one - just as it was closing. So we'll have to go back on Monday I think.

So we went and got the best gelato in the world and then GASP! I actually did the reading for Renaissance class. I'm all caught up, so as long as I read what I'm supposed to read every week now, it should be really easy. I didn't get time to read my books today, which was a little sad, but I'm glad I got caught up on school. Dinner was good - we had penne pasta. After dinner we went on a walk and replenished some of our drink supplies since they were running low and then we got ready and hung out on the terrace.

We ended up going to the Lion's Fountain, which is a cute little Irish pub. Jordan and I sang karaoke, but we ended up coming back early because we were sleepy and we have to get on a train to Pisa tomorrow. I'll update after Pisa and before Venice since we're only spending an afternoon in Pisa. (There isn't much to do there!)

ALSO - creepy thing that happened. This one shop owner that we accidentally bumped into one time (who was in love with Jordan) bicycled past us on our way back home from the Lion's Fountain and he pretended to ask us directions to somewhere in Italian. We know enough Italian not to be fooled - but it was so shady that he knew obviously who we were and we recognized him, but he still pretended like he didn't remember us. Then he just apologized cuz he thought we were italiani but really we were americani. It was sooo creepy because he already knew we were American and was just pretending. But I guess I've learned that all Italian men are creepy.

Lol that's all for the day! Arrividerci!

May 20, 2009

So yesterday we found the cutest little american bookstore down the street from our hotel and I think I am absolutely in love. You can buy a used book for anywhere from .25 euro to 5 euro, and then return it when you're done and get like half your money back - which you can use towards store credit, so you can get another book. I'm on book three already, I have read so far

1) Confessions of a Shopaholic
2) Shopaholic takes Manhattan

Now I'm starting the Devil Wears Prada. But to keep myself a little classy and not just read fluff, I also started the Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Yesterday afternoon I spent the day mostly reading, taking a nap, and then reading some more. Dinner was delicious - we got rice instead of pasta for once and I was very pleased. After dinner I read some more. Today Italiano was boring because we had to review for our test tomorrow. For culture class we went to this chapel that is apparently really important for the Renaissance. I couldn't make myself pay attention - but THEN a great thing happened. Professor Ciacarelli took us all out for gelato and paid for it. This place had the best flavors - nutella, chocolate, cookies, chocolate mousse, cheesecake, banana, etc. Basically anything a girl could want in ice cream.

I have spent my afternoon reading, facebooking, and of course, more reading. Dinner was good again - they finally stopped giving me five hunks of (bland) mozzarella cheese just because I'm a vegetarian. It's a nice change. I have been studying since after dinner, but also I've been listening to music and Jordan and I have been chatting, so I haven't really studied much.

We discovered today that procrastinating is actually a good thing, because so far on this trip, those who have procrastinated have come out better than those who haven't.

Example one: Jordan got her cell phone beforehand, and now I got a way better deal.
Example two: I got my train tickets beforehand, and now I am suffering because I cannot get them changed at all.

I should study, ciao!

PS - The novelty of taking pictures during the week has gone away since I now actually live here, but I'll take pictures in Pisa and Venice this weekend! Also I'm doing a pub crawl on Friday - it should be great.

May 19, 2009

Part of our festivities of the evening last night!

Buongiorno!

Yesterday was Monday - which meant back to classes. But the good thing is we only have Italian on Mondays, so it eased me into the week. It was a good day - we got lunch early because we were starving but then we got gypped by this gelato man - I kept asking him for a small cone but he gave me a large one and I ended up having to pay 9 freaking euro for a gelato. I am not having gelato for the rest of the week!

Then Jordan and I walked around and went shopping. We went to this little market, where there is a boar fountain. And you're supposed to put a coin in the mouth of the boar, make a wish while rubbing its snout, and then let go of the coin so that it falls into the grate. And if it does, your wish will come true. I made the same wish that I did at the Trevi fountain.

BUT then, these french people tried to ask us what we were doing while we were wishing and we ended up having a conversation in 4 languages. Jordan knew Spanish, I knew French, they knew both Spanish and French, but we kept getting confused since we're learning Italian. So I explained in French, she took over in Spanish, we kept putting in Italian words AND we talked to each other in English and were speaking in English to the couple when we couldn't come up with any words. It was so chaotic, but so so funny.

Then, we were just walking when I saw a camera store, and so I ended up buying a camera and I AM SO EXCITED. It's a Kodak easyshare like my old one, but its nicer because its 10.2 megapixels and it has a chargeable battery and its black and sleek and pretty and I love it.

Then we sat around and facebooked for HOURS. Then dinner and then some drinking games on the terrace. I think the most wonderful thing about Florence is the weather lately. It is lows in the high 60s, and highs in the high 80s, and even upto the 90s. Today after Italian class and after Renaissance class I ate a sandwich with lettuce and tomato and cheese on it. It was SO good because its the first time I have been able to actually eat vegetables in a while. Otherwise its been fatty food galore with calzones and pizza. I spent the afternoon getting a mega tan on the terrace, and now I'm in my room hanging out!

I'll write again later tonight, life is so good.
I'm going to Pisa and Venice this weekend - should be amazing!!

I <3>

May 17, 2009

Colosseum!


Trevi Fountain


St. Peter's Basilica


Inside the Vatican


Our table at dinner!


Me in a building in San Gimignano


View from top of museum in Siena

A blog post is WAY overdue, but I just haven't had internet for the past three days and I've been traveling a lot!

Thursday was a relatively normal day in my life - went to Italian class, had a surprise Renaissance class where we went to Santa Maria Novella, got lunch, walked around Florence, and did our homework. It was quite a boring day!

Friday we went on our day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Siena was really preety - we went to their cathedral and then we had time to hang around the city. Jordan and I got our Italia sweatshirts. It was raining and kind of cold all day though, so we didn't enjoy it as much as we could have. We also went to the baptistry, which was really pretty! Then we went to San Gimignano, which is the cutest little town in Tuscany. We went to the top of the city there, and the view was absolutely breathtaking. They took us to dinner at this restaurant with a 5 course meal, and Professor Ciacarelli kept pouring us wine - I think I had WAY too much lol.

SATURDAY MORNING WE LEFT FOR ROMA!!!!

It was amazing - we did everything. In the morning we went to the Vatican, and then we went to St. Peter's Basilica. The inside was so gorgeous - it was one of the prettiest churches I have ever seen. Then we saw the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain and got gelato at supposedly the best gelato place in Italy. We also went and saw the Pantheon and went out to dinner at a sit-down place. Food is so weird here because you have to pay a sitting fee if you want to go to a restaurant. Even at places they call bars, which are actually like snack places where you get pizza or calzones, and you have to pay for actually sitting at the table. Otherwise, you grab and go. We went back to our hostel for the night - which was an interesting experience, but we ended up getting good roommates and it wasn't a horrible experience.

Saturday we spent so much time sitting at the Trevi Fountain and in the Piazza della Spagna. It is such a pretty city, and I LOVE IT.

We woke up today and went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Both places were so cool to look at - although I had no idea that the Colosseum was actually converted into a quarry - so what I thought would be open space was actually full of bricks and stuff.

I'm putting up some photos - not from my camera but from Jordan's. I'm considering buying a cheap camera here somewhere that's still digital but won't be expensive or anything so I can take my own pictures. I'm going to the store tomorrow.

May 13, 2009

Lil Jon!


My new Australian friend, Duncan!


Girls in Piazza della Repubblica on the way to the club!

So its technically May 14, but its still tonight, so I think this counts.

So last night was probably one of the most ridiculous nights of my life. First, we ended up walking for an hour and a half to get to this club - and had to stop and ask some tranny prostitutes for directions. Then these two guys tried to get me and Jordan in their car - but wouldn't let Ian or Dan or Kristin come. We finally get there, and the club and Lil Jon were awesome! We met some Aussies and some Hollies (they were from Holland). BUT then my camera got stolen and I cried haha.

Got home around 4:30 am after I expertly navigated a little and passed out - only to wake up for Italian class this morning at 9 and culture class at 11. Needless to say, it was a painful 5 hours of being awake. Ate lunch, got back, and PASSED OUT until like 6 pm, when we made ourselves get out of bed.

Then we just ate dinner, spent the day studying for our quiz tomorrow, and being mad about my grades and my life in general. Basically, I think God is telling me that I am doing something wrong because things keep getting messed up.

But atleast I am in Florence and its a nice city. I always feel better about things the day after, like I feel very calm about my camera today. So maybe I'll forget about my grades by tomorrow.

I love you all.

May 12, 2009

Hello!

I feel like its going to get really boring to tell you guys about my day, so I'll probably update on the funny things that happened last night.

FIRST, TONIGHT WE ARE GOING TO SEE LIL JON. I sort of can't wait, and we might be taking tons and tons of pictures.

Last night was quite possibly one of the funniest nights of my life.

We have officially changed our names to:
Vasundhara - Viani
Ian - Iani
Jordan - Giani

(Italian has no j's, just g's, which is why it has to be Giani)

Today, we planned our weekend trip to Rome this weekend and finally bought the rest of our tickets!
Also, we had our first Renaissance Florence class, in which I am pretty sure everyone fell asleep atleast once. But it was funny. It was realllly hot out today, but still a nice day. We just walked around and stopped by the Piazza of San Lorenzo and saw some really awesome open street markets, which was cool. Did Italian homework and took mini naps. I am so excited for tonight.

Also, I left my camera cord at home and I won't be able to get it until my sister visits me in 2.5 weeks, so I can't put up pics now, but I will do it all once I can.

More later, I still love this place, its going to go by so fast.

May 11, 2009

Day 2!

Today has been fun. We went to our first Italian class and learned some stuff about saying hi, bye, asking people about names and then random stuff. Then we did a lot of errands! Ian and I went and got cell phones - but I can barely talk to anyone since its so expensive! I bought a notebook, which I needed for class. And then I bought a pair of shoes. I need to stop shopping. We also went to the supermarket and bought a ton of stuff. We stopped by the train station, which wasn't that entertaining. And then we went to get Lil Jon tickets and the GREATEST thing happened: we met the owner of the club.

Now we are now officially VIPs - which basically means that free stuff lol.

I am going to add a picture for today soon, but I need to get a good one first!

I LOVE FLORENCE!

First Day!

Today, I got to Florence. It is quite possibly the most beautiful city in the world. I have been here since 12:30, and Ian and Jordan and I walked around the city and got gelato and calzones and then found the rail station. Funny things that happened already:
I got harassed by a street artist and I gave in and paid 10 euro for the worst caricature of me - ever.
Jordan got harassed by some guy working at the Space Club and he offered us a discount to come party with him.
And then come hang out with his friends afterward! Then I napped and now we are waiting for dinner, but sitting on the terrace and having a good old time.


That picture up there is the view of the Duomo from our terrace.

Things to do tomorrow:

Train station to get tickets validated
Cell Phone
Buy Notebook/Pencils (I forgot I was actually here to study abroad)
Get tickets to Lil Jon?!

Awesome