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Spring Break: Euro-style

10 days, 7 countries, 5 languages, 4 currencies…..all made for a very interesting and incredibly fun trip!!!

I’m first going to give an overview of my trip and then I’ll go into detail of each of the cities I visited….just fyi!

At approximately 6:04 a.m. on Friday morning, Hillary, Elyse, and I ventured off to catch a bus to the train station, to take a train to Rome, to catch a bus to the airport to fly to Geneva, Switzerland. If that wasn’t a mouthful enough, once we got to Geneva, we found my friend Laura, and then had to catch a bus, to a tram, and walk over the France/Switzerland border to get to our hotel. Oh, and yes, at this point, we were surviving on my high school French……that was interesting!

We stayed in Geneva until Sunday evening, when we took a plane to Budapest, Hungary. At this point, it was just Elyse, Hillary and I because Laura’s friend from home was coming to visit. We had to take a taxi to our hostel and somehow were successful in communicating (in English, not Hungarian) to the taxi driver where it was.

We left Budapest on Tuesday night and took an overnight train to Prague, Czech Republic. While we were there, we met up with Elyse’s friend Katie, who is studying there this semester. When we were pulling into the train station, it was snowing….definitely reminded me of back home! Prague was definitely my favorite city! (but more on that later….)

Then we left Prague to go to Vienna, Austria early Friday morning, by bus. Hillary parted from us, because her boyfriend came to Perugia, so now it was just me and Elyse- us two against the world….hahaha Anyways, we stayed there until Sunday morning, when we took a bus to Bratislava, Slovakia, a plane to Rome, and a train back to Perugia.

It was an insane trip: not just with seeing four amazing cities, but experiencing four very different cultures. It was really interesting to see all the different everyday lives and such of each city. I am disappointed that I was on almost every form of transportation besides a boat…. :/ hahaha

Assisi: Take 2

So some of my friends decided to go to Assisi for a Friday, and I thought, “Why not go again?” I probably wouldn’t normally have gone, but last time the castle was closed, and I wanted to get to see it. Just to my luck, it was closed again, but oh well!

It only takes about 20 minutes to get to Assisi, so Caitlin, Thomas, Zach, Ross, Ryan, Brian, and I all left at about lunch time. We went to an early dinner, at the most delicious pizza place in all of Umbria (as stated in many guidebooks). It was absolutely delicious!!!!

Then we went to San Francesco, again. We asked these two American women traveling through all of Italy to take pictures of all of us. They literally fell in love with the boys, and even asked Caitlin and I to step out of the picture and take one with them and the boys…..very interesting…..

Anyways, then we traveled up to the castle on top of the hill (even though it was closed, we could still see all the views from the hill. The sky was really clear, so I got some great pictures of everything, especially San Francesco. It was well-worth the trip!

Dan is in Siena....Siena is in Dan!

This is the song that my friend Caitlin made up…don’t know why, but it was really funny, so I titled this blog by the song…and sadly, Caitlin’s friend called her last minute to say she was visiting her, so Caitlin wasn’t even able to join us. So it was Elyse, her friend from school, Tina, and I who ventured off to Siena to visit their friend Dan.

So after arriving in Siena, we asked the bus driver if this one stop was our stop, and he said yes. So we get off, and can’t seem to find Dan, which meant that, no in fact, we had gotten off at the wrong point. We walked around for about 15 minutes, following signs to the center of town, and eventually Dan finds us. It was a little scary because it was about 8 o’clock at night and we were carrying a bunch of bags, but we finally made it to Dan’s apartment safely. By then we were also starving, so we went out to a wonderful dinner and then walked around town for a while, enjoying the beautiful weather.

The next morning, we decided to- you guessed it- visit more churches! (I mean, what else do you do in Europe, especially Italy?!?) We went to St. Catherine’s and then headed to San Domenico’s, where there was actually St. Catherine’s head and finger that had been preserved….very strange, but kinda cool at the same time. We walked around a ton- just looking at all different views of the city, including going up to the abandoned palace on the top outskirts of the city. Eventually we decided to head back to the main piazza, the del Campo, where literally EVERYONE congregates. Of course, we got some gelato and just people watched for a bit. It was really good weather, so it was great just sitting and eating…yummm!!!

In July and August, there are two horse races in Siena, called the Palio. They occur in the del Campo. See the city is split up into 17 contrade (districts) and each one gets one horse. The horse that wins gives the whole contrada pride and celebrations for the whole rest of the year. The horses race three times around the outside of the piazza three times. There’s tons of gambling and it’s just crazy! It’s really cool too, cuz this has been going on for hundreds of years.

So after our delicious gelato, we went to the duomo, which was actually really cool. The floor is all engraved marble, and they only let certain parts of it be shown at a time. It was really similar coloring and build to that of the duomo in Florence. By then, however, it was about time to catch our bus home. Siena was great- especially the weather when we were there- but I did miss Perugia!

vino, vino vino!

The Saturday following my trip to Assisi, I went to a wine-tasting at a local winery, Chiorri. It was about 20 minutes by bus outside of Perugia. This vineyard is self-sufficient, and they only used the grapes- they don’t add yeast or anything artificial. There are seven different types of wines, and we were able to taste 3 of them.

Our tour-guide was the son-in-law of the owner, and he was absolutely hysterical! He walked us through the whole process of wine-making: the grape smusher, as I call it; all of the different giant metal containers; the barrels; and such. Then he showed us the whole bottling process, which is really cool- I felt like I was back watching Mr. Roger’s or something, though- kinda strange, I know, because Mr. Roger’s would be able to have alcohol on the show…..

^This is the machine used to package the wine into the bottles, including corking and labeling....really cool!

Anyways, then we went into this cute, Italian-decorated room, where we were to have the actual tasting. They served us fresh bruschetta, torte al testo (a type of sandwich that is unique to Perugia), meat, cheese, and this delicious chocolatey-vanilla cakey dessert. In between the different courses, our tour-guide explained each wine, how that specifically was made, and the best way to drink it (cold or room temperature, fresh or let it age, etc.) It was really interesting! He also explained which wines are better from which locations in Italy. We tasted a red, a white, and a rossa (which is a pink wine). It was really fun and interesting to learn all about wine!

Assisi

On Friday, my friends Elyse, Caitlin, Kate (Caitlin’s friend that is studying in Vienna), and I decided to take a day-trip to Assisi. It is a mere 25 minute train ride away, and then a taxi ride up to the actual city. The city is also on a hill (I know, very surprising in Italy) and very, very quiet. We didn’t see many people out in the streets, or even in the churches, though it was a Friday, so maybe people just work outside of Assisi? Anyways, the town is just beautiful- very clean and it definitely carried a religious feel. Almost every store sold rosaries, prayer cards, pictures/post cards of the church, etc.

Our first stop was the Basilica di San Francesco (Basilica of Saint Francis- pictured above). We decided to get the audio tour guide, which was really, really informative, and gave a lot of interesting stories behind the frescos (paintings) and history of Saint Francis. The sad thing is that in most churches here, you are not allowed to take pictures inside, so I sadly can’t share much with you. I did, however, miss the signs at first, and took a picture of this one…and then got yelled at in Italian to turn off my camera. Here’s your inside look:

Inside the Basilica, there is the tomb of Saint Francis, along with numerous relics of his. There were shoes, chalices, and lots of his clothes, such as this one:

Following our long stay at the Basilica (and some gelato, or course), we stopped in the church of Santa Maria (Saint Mary’s). As we were walking to the other main church in Assisi, Elyse suggests us to stop in this smaller church on the way. It just so happens that this was the church that was built on top of San Francesco’s house! Inside the church is the actual front door of his house, the cell he was imprisoned in, and his father’s shop…..here are some pictures:

<- This is the inside of the chapel.

This is the prison cell San Francesco was kept in. ->

Then we venture on to Chiesa di Santa Chiara (Church of Saint Clare). Again, we couldn’t take pictures inside :/. This church actually has the cross that San Francesco was praying to when God came to him…very interesting! There was also Santa Chiara’s tomb, and lots of beautiful statues and frescos.

As the sun set, we realized we had to leave (wow…I’m sounding like I’m writing a novel), so we headed back to the train station. Assisi was BEAUTIFUL, and we all commented on how underrated it is. I plan to go back because the top fortress was closed, and supposedly there are gorgeous views from it. Check out my picture website for more photos! <>

Super Bowl: Italian-style

Yes, we did celebrate the Super Bowl, even though we are an ocean away. We had to get to one of the two bars playing the game by about 11 (at night) to scope out tables. The game then didn’t start until 12:30…which means we didn’t get home then until 4:45. (Yes, I did have class at 9 a.m. and I DID go!) It was a very good defensive game, and with everything that happened in the last few minutes, I am sooo glad that I didn’t go home at half!

This is a picture of Elyse, Hillary, me, and Caitlin with the bar owner after the Giants won! We were all veeerrrryyy excited!

Perugia/Terni with Daddy-o!!

I haven’t updated in a while because I’ve been verrryy busy, so you will be getting a lot of updates all at once!

So two Thursdays ago, my dad came to visit me!!! It was really exciting and great to see/ spend time with him! We went to dinner at this all-organic place in Perugia on Thursday night….it was delicious! (and of course the conversation was great!) Then Friday morning we walked around all of Perugia- I showed him my school buildings, went into some of the churches, walked down some of the main streets….it was really nice to be a tour guide for the first time since I’ve been here! Then we decided to take an afternoon train to Terni (so that my dad wouldn’t have to travel sooo far to Rome for his flight out the next morning).

Terni was a nice city, but it did really make me appreciate Perugia. It was not as social, a lot quieter, and definitely more industrial. There really wasn’t any ‘views’ to see, and the duomo was closed so we couldn’t go in L. (the outside was beautiful- you can see above) There was a very interesting statue, though right outside the train station- it reminds me of a transformer….what do you think?

All in all, it was great to see my dad and talk to some of my family members on the phone. I miss you guys!

Dogs Everywhere! (This one's for you, Mar!)

Yes, there are dogs EVERYWHERE here! They don’t have laws requiring dogs to be leashed or subject to certain areas, so it’s definitely a change! People let their dogs roam- like we do with cats during the day. There are two dogs that chill in our alley all day- sometimes they walk me to my door…it’s adorable! This also means that dogs leave little ‘presents’ everywhere, so you always have to be careful where you are walking. Their owners are supposed to pick it up (there are boxes with bags for this specific purpose all around the city), but that isn’t always the case. Now with this lack of laws, this also means that dogs are allowed in stores, restaurants, etc. It’s really funny to be looking at some shoes and have a dog come up next to you!

Dinner Time!

So last Friday night, Elyse and I decided to host a dinner party. It was originally going to be Elyse, Hillary, Caitlin, and I, but in a trip out to the grocery store, we ran into some other friends of ours and invited them as well. Then, dinner included us four girls, plus James, Andy, Nick, and Andrew. We made pasta and made a pomodoro sauce with ground beef. We also had bruschetta and salad. It was soo fun because it felt like we were so mature (not that we aren’t normally…), but it was just really cool to have everyone dress up and have a really nice meal. The best part was after we were done, the guys refused to let us in the kitchen, and they cleaned ALL the dishes! It was amazing! hahaha

**I will add pictures once Elyse uploads them, and I can steal them from her...**

Firenze (Florence)

This weekend I traveled to the beautiful Florence! It was absolutely beautiful! (especially because the sun was out, which is sadly the second time I've seen it since I've been here :/) Anyways, it was perfect weather for sightseeing! I traveled mainly with Elyse, Caitlin, Laura, and Cait, though we met up with various people throughout the trip- I think about half of our program was in Florence this weekend. We took the train early Friday morning, checked into our hostel, and went to go see the Duomo. It is insane how detailed and beautiful it is!

It took over 350 years to build- no kidding! The marble-work is just amazing! We went inside, which is just incredible,
but then we decided to go up to the top (climb the 467 stairs? something like that...). The views were just unbelievable!) here are some pictures:




















After going to the top of the Duomo, we walked around a lot of Florence. There are stores everywhere (gelaterias too!!)! I had gelato twice while there, and of course, they were both delicious! The interesting thing is that prior to going to Florence, I had only had gelato from the grocery store, because in Perugia, people look at you funny if you order gelato in winter. Many gelaterias aren’t even open right now. In Florence (and I’ve heard Rome too), because there are so many tourists, all of them are open, and they people are always walking down the street licking a cone.

We walked to Ponte Vecchio, and took some GORGEOUS pictures of the views along the water and of the bridges. (Look to web album for that one....) We also saw the fake David and another church, called Santa Croce. The architecture in these cities is just amazing!!!

Then for dinner, my friend Laura’s uncle had suggested a restaurant (because he’s been to Florence many times). They didn’t open till 7:30, but we had gotten there at about 7 and were already in line behind people. Obviously this was a very good restaurant! We were drooling outside because all the waiters get to eat before they open, so for a half hour, we had to stand and watch them eat! Another interesting thing about Italians is that dead animals don’t seem bother them at all- there was a pigs head just sitting on a table and pig legs hanging all around the restaurant as decoration! This didn’t scare us away though, and thank God, because it was delicious! (It didn’t hurt that the waiter was really cute…check my pictures!) The food was just amazing, and it was perfect way to end a day of walking around for hours. We had two kinds of pasta, family style, and bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (a stable at nearly every dinner). Sooooo yummy!!

Later that night, we met up with other people from our program at a local pub/bar. It was really fun- they had karaoke! I sang Oasis-Wonderwall with Hillary/Caitlin, and Ace of Base with Nick and James…..really, really fun. Obviously, you can see that here all the music is truly American- Soulja Boy plays ALLLL the time! It’s kind of weird, but also funny at the same time. The best is when old-school *NSYNC or Backstreet Boys come on….always a good time!

The next day I spent mainly with Elyse and Caitlin, and we just shopped around. January is the sale month here, so everything is about 50% off. This sounds great, but you have to keep in mind that everything is soooo expensive here! Italians spend at least 40% of their incomes on clothes and buy fewer, more expensive things. It was really fun to look and try on though! I did buy another pair of skinny jeans! Another random shopping observation: Italians have no concept of personal space. If you are looking for your size in a stack, they will reach into the same stack at the same time and get theirs.

So Florence was beautiful, and I had a blast! The one thing I did notice was that it is definitely more Americanized than Perugia. In Perugia, many people have little or no English knowledge, but in Florence, if you walked into a store or bar (name for a café in Italian- funny huh?), they would revert to English right away if they sensed you struggling with Italian. Just an interesting observation….

Coming back to Perugia was really different because the weather was actually nice! No more rain (*fingers crossed*), and it’s actually been sunny! Also, the other two universities: University of Perugia (for Italian students) and the Stragniere (for study abroad students taking classes in Italian), were back in session, so there are a ton more people my age here. It’s been great!

Umbra Institute

So yesterday I started my first OFFICIAL class schedule. Last week was solely Italian Immersion: learning how to order food, how to ask where something is, how to talk to our landlord, how to get groceries, etc. It was very helpful, but being thrown sooo much at once has also caused me to forget a lot of it already!

Here I am taking 5 classes: Human Development in Culture, Contemporary Italian Literature in Translation, Photography, the Roman Empire, and of course, Italian. Photo is going to be amazing! Our final project is a photo diary of our trip consisting of at least 120 pictures and dialogue about our trip....going to be very very time consuming (black room developing and such) but soo much fun! For Human Development, we actually get to go into one of the elementary schools here, talk to the kids in both Italian and English, and observe the cultural differences. Should be interesting! For Roman Empire, we're taking a field trip to Rome to visit some of the more 'not-tourist known' parts of the city.

So now that I have bored you completely....

I'm going to Florence this weekend, so I promise the next blog will have more exciting news and definitely some pictures!

osservare dal mio appartamento

So I am finally getting to update again, and I want to give you a taste of what I see every morning when I wake up.

here is my view from my bedroom:


and the back view:
this is the main street, on my walk to class:


and the main fountain in the Piazza IV Novembre:


This is the main meeting place for everyone in the city. To the right of that is the Duomo (church/cathedral) where there are a bunch of steps to go inside. When it isn't raining, the steps are full of people: eating lunch, reading, doing homework (there are 3 universities in Perugia), talking, etc. It's the most lively part of town, no matter what time of day. And, as you can see in the left, there is always a police car patrolling to make sure everyone's safe.

Italian way of life is definitely a lot different from ours back home. Here everything opens between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. and closes at about 1:00 p.m. and then reopens from about 4:30-8:00 at night. Restaurants are open from about 11:00 a.m.-1:00p.m. and then reopen from about 8:00-10:00 p.m. at night. Most places are closed on Sundays and Monday mornings, and all butchers are closed on Thursday afternoons (and nobody knows why....'it's just what they've always done') Obviously, there are much fewer hours, which gets complicated when you want to get groceries at night and they're already closed!

Arrivo in Italia

Buona sera!

It was a veeeerrryy long trip to get to Perugia! After a cancelled flight and the next flight being delayed three times, I ended up missing the group flight (leaving from JFK). Thank God there was another girl, Sarah, who was in my same situation, and so we had them put us up in the same hotel, and we finally flew out the next day, but with Italy being 7 hours ahead, we didn’t get to Rome until 6:30 A.M. Then we still had to take a 4 hour bus ride to Perugia, but the looong trip was worth it! The countryside is just gorgeous!

Arriving in Perugia, I immediately noticed what they meant by hills and rain! The center of Perugia sits on top of a hill, so you always know where the main streets and piazzas are. Right now they have lights up in all the streets (we were told for the holiday and that they would be taken down yesterday, but they’re still up! Yay!) They really brighten up the city, and you are able to see really unique shadows on the architecture.

Today was the first day it hasn’t rained at least part of the day. I really got to see how deep and beautiful the valley is. It’s really interesting that the rain doesn’t keep anyone inside. The streets are almost always full of people walking around, and there’s a fountain and cathedral in the main piazza where everyone sits on the steps to eat lunch, no matter how foggy or rainy it is.

Sunday night my roommates and I went to a restaurant for a traditional meal for the holiday (the Epiphany). Our meal consisted of 5 courses (3 kinds of bread, 2 types of pasta, bread salad, 3 kinds of meat, and dessert + a dessert liquor…..DELICIOUS!!) Oh and of course, in true Italian style, wine is the drink at all dinner meals.

Yesterday I started my first set of classes- this week is just Italian language, and then next week I start all of my electives as well. Here, you are really forced to learn the language because most people in the town don’t know any English- it’s tough, but sooo much fun! Yes, ordering my meat, cheese, veggies, and fruits from the market was very interesting the first time around. (Problem is that I keep wanting to speak French- gotta get that out of my system!)

Well I’m going to go out and enjoy some of the sun! (I hear that you’ve had warmer weather though….I’m jealous!)

Arrivederci!

...and I just realized that I didn't upload my latest pictures to my computer, so I don't have the pictures I took from my bedroom window this morning :( I'll make sure to include those in my next post!