Florence makes me smile

Ciao!

Let’s see if I can pick up where I left off and not leave out anything too major.  I currently am just chilling in my room and resting after a long day, but that will come later.  I left off and I had almost finished my first week of class, I’ll fill you all in on the first long weekend and updates through today.

Thursday January 16^th:

This was the last day of class for the week and I finished up at 12:35 and headed back to Cordova for lunch.  After lunch, Megan, Julie and I walked up to San Miniato al Monte.  This is a Basillica on the hill across the river.  On our walk up, we found a little garden.  It was cute and would probably be prettier in the spring, but it was still quite quaint.  When we reached the Basillica, the view looked over Florence and it was so pretty.  Pictures don’t do anything justice.  When we went inside, there was someone practicing playing the organ, which added a neat ambiance. 

Friday, January 17^th (Happy Birthday Davis!!):

I went to the Academia and saw the David.  It was HUGE!!  I was not expecting the statue to be as large and as perfect as it was.  I went with Michele and Emily and afterwards we walked around and looked for boots and clothes and by the time we got back to Cordova, it was pouring rain and we were pretty wet.  We were getting kinda grumpy by the time dinner was rolling around which makes sense.  So Michele, Emily, Megan and I went to a place called Yellow Bar and we were instantly happy once we walked inside out of the rain.  The person who greeted us at the door showed us where they make all their own fresh pasta and then showed us to a table.  We all ordered something different and then were able to try all the different dishes.  I got a pasta dish that had wide thicker noodles with tomato sauce and zucchini and eggplant.  It was delicious!  We got a bottle of house wine and I drank a full glass.  I am improving on wine drinking slowly but surely.  We also got a little tiramisu to split at the end of dinner.  What my favorite part about this evening was laughing and talking with friends and eating and not being rushed.  We were probably at the restaurant for 2.5 hours.  The best part about Italian culture is the emphasis on good, fresh food and enjoying it with company and spending time enjoying life.  We all laughed so much that evening and it is something that I will always remember.  Friends, food, laughing and fun.

Saturday, January 18^th:

Today was a good day for eating.  Megan and I walked around Florence and found a sandwich place that people had been talking about.  When we walked in we were overwhelmed since there wasn’t a traditional menu.  Megan told the guy to make her something good and he made a delicious sandwich.  I went first so I just said yes to whatever the server offered to put on my sandwich.  It was good as well.  The sandwiches were bigger than our heads and the bread was warm and fresh and delicious.  We also stopped by the best gelato place ever – Gelateria dei Neri!! Emily, Megan and I had Gusta Pizza for dinner which is across the river and was delicious! I got a Margherita Pizza for 5 euros.  We hung out back at Cordova for the rest of the evening. 

Sunday, January 19^th:

Megan, Emily and I planned our spring break and bought flights! Woohoo!! So excited about that adventure upcoming.  Since all the engineers live in Cordova, we all did homework together and helped each other out.  I went to the student mass at school and then had pasta afterwards at school after mass.  Then I went to office hours for math at 8.  On to week two of school!

Monday – Thursday: School.  The highlights included on Wednesday night I played calcetto.  This is essentially soccer, but on a smaller field and the ball was slightly smaller and bounced less and the ground had zero traction.  It was a lot of fun to play with everyone at school and to be able to play since I have missed playing soccer.  I ran in the mornings before classes. 

Thursday, January 23rd: 
I slept through my alarm, and both roommates waking up and taking a shower (I must have needed sleep!!) and missed out on having time to run so I did a core workout after school.  I signed up for the Tuscan dinner through school.  We went to a traditional Tuscan restaurant and had dinner.  I sat next to Megan and Professor McKenzie (my math professor).  We had traditional Tuscan dishes.  It was fun to sit next to McKenzie since he is such an excited person about life.  It turns out we both love Gelateria dei Neri so afterwards Megan, McKenzie and I got gelato :)  Didn't think that would ever happen!! Walking through the streets of Florence with my math professor.  He showed us some spots he likes to go to as well.  So fun :)

Friday, January 24^th:

Pisa!! Megan and I went to Pisa today.  We took the train from Florence and arrived in Pisa.  We took the classic Pisa tourist pictures and then had lunch at a pizza place and then walked back over to the Cathedral and walked through it.  We walked around and found a museum which had an Andy Warhol exhibit, but you had to pay for that so we went to the free exhibit on the 2^nd floor.  We continued to walk around and found a piazza and then some stores.  I found a cute shirt on sale for 7 euros and Megan got a shirt too!  We walked back to the train station and met up with another group that went to Pisa today as well.  We all fell asleep on the train ride back since we were so tired from the day.  Those of us that did not travel this weekend went to dinner at a Greek place down the street and I got a chicken pita which had chicken, tomato, tzatziki sauce, and French fires (a surprisingly good addition).  Then we walked back and got chocolate bombolini’s (doughnuts).  Apparently after lunch they are warm and even better!  It was a surprisingly cheap dinner, under 6 euros for the pita and bombolini! 

What else is planned for this weekend? A hike in Prato tomorrow, a museum visit and some homework thrown in there.  Also, Megan and I decided to go to Barcelona next weekend.  So excited!!

I absolutely love everything about being abroad, independence, new experiences, new friends and just a grand old time J 

Love,

Allie

P.S.  The wifi here is awful (I like to joke that when the wifi dies - which is often, it is hiding in the Duomo) and it takes way too much time to upload a photo on to here, so selected pictures are on Facebook.  

Rome and my new home, Firenze

Hello!!

I’m spending the semester in Florence, Italy! Woohoo! :)

I arrived in Florence on January 8 and met up with all my engineering buddies and then the next day we packed up and headed to Rome for the opening tour.  I was in Rome from January 9^th to the 12^th and it was so neat, every bit of it. 

Rome

Day 1:

Got in around 2 and had a 3 hour walking tour of Rome at 4:30.  In this tour I saw the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Rooms of St. Ignatius, many churches and ruins.  The tour ended at the place where we were having dinner.  Dinner was fun since it was a multi course meal with lots of time in between and there was a cute old man playing the piano and singing and at one time he played the “YMCA”.  So fun!  We had vegetables, pasta, veal (I think that’s what it was…) and cake and it was all yummy!  After dinner, I walked back to the hotel and fell asleep (jet lag is rough).

Day 2:

Visited the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.  The Colosseum is absolutely huge and I can’t imagine how it was built.  It was neat walking through the Roman Forum and seeing all the old building and ruins and it brought back memories of learning about Rome in 7^th grade at Stella with Mrs. Tennis.  Definitely brought history to life!  After this, a group of us grabbed a quick bite to eat at a little pizza place, which was tasty.  The afternoon was a trip to the Villa Borghese, and we went in and got a tour of the museum.  There were lots of neat paintings and sculptures.  For the evening we were on our own, so Michele Cusick, Megan Cunningham, Julie Nowak, Emily Zikmund and I went to find a place to eat.  We wandered over to a place across the river and found a nice place to eat.  We all got a pasta dish and shared a bottle of wine (can’t say I drank more than 3 sips…) and it was simple and delicious and fun to be with good company.  Then we had gelato to top the night off. 

Day 3:

This morning we went to the Vatican museum and St. Peter’s Basillica.  The Sistine Chapel was absolutely amazing.  St. Peter’s Basillica was huge and again, it amazes me how all these huge, gorgeous buildings were built.  We were in our tour groups for this again and it was so nice having a guide to point everything out.  The afternoon was on our own, so we had lunch (pizza and salad) and then we walked down the shopping area of Rome and it was crazy!  So many people out and about.  Next up was a nap before dinner at 8.  Dinner was at a yummy place and the whole school group went.  I sat with Megan, Michele, Julie and Emily and we had a lot of fun together and enjoying each others company.  Dinner lasted over 3 hours and it was so enjoyable to eat and laugh.  Dinner started with a bunch of little tasty appetizers and the waiters kept bringing out more and more.  We also had 3 different types of pasta and one of them was in the shape of what Michele thought looked like maggots.  That kept us laughing for awhile.  Next was salad and a huge platter of meat was brought to the table for us all to pick what we wanted.  It was an interesting assortment of meats.  Then was dessert!  I had chocolate cake.  The funny part of dinner was that I actually enjoyed the wine for once.  I only poured myself a small amount and was drinking it, until I realized that the amount in the glass never seemed to actually go down.  That’s when I figured out that every time I would be distracted laughing with Michele, Emily, Julie and Megan he would pour a little more into my glass.  It was all fun J

Day 4:

Last day in Roma!  This morning I walked over to St. Peter’s Square with Michele, Lauren, Emily, Ryan, Julie, Megan and we met other people from Gonzaga while we were there.  At noon Pope Frances came out from his window  and said a blessing in Italian that lasted for almost 15mins.  I didn’t understand what he was saying, but I think it had something to do with everyone being a family.  This was definitely a cool experience to be a part of.  There were so many people and there were people holding flags from their countries.  Very neat.  Then we grabbed a sandwich on the go and headed back to the hotel to leave for Florence.  By the time we all got back on the bus, we were exhausted.  Never before have I done that much walking!!

Monday brought the first day of classes.  I got up and ran with Michele before classes, it is nice to have someone to run with in the morning since it is dark when we have to run.  I had all five classes on Monday; Ordinary Differential Equations, Renaissance Architecture, Dynamics, Statistics, break for lunch and then Mechanics of Materials.  After classes we all did some homework in the pensione since everyone is an engineer in my pensione and then had dinner.  I have McKenzie for both math classes and he is hilarious.  It is going to be a lot of fun to have him as a teacher, and he likes running too! Renaissance Architecture is neat since on Wednesdays we walk around and the Professor tells us about Florence and the buildings.  Dynamics and Mechanics of Materials will be hard, not because of the material, but rather the language barrier.  Both of these Professors are from Florence and teach in Italian at their respective universities.  It is fun though to have them since they are from Florence and don’t speak English as a first language.  A bit of a challenge is always good. 

Tuesday I have Ordinary Differential Equations, a break, then Dynamics and Statistics and then lunch.  Michele and I ran before class again this morning.  After lunch, Megan and I walked to the Uffizi Museum so we could buy a pass to go see the museums nearby.  We then spent nearly 2 hrs walking through the museum looking at all the statues and paintings.  We got tired after awhile and decided we would come back later and went to get gelato at a really yummy place.  I will definitely be back to that gelato place.  I had caramel and chocolate.  So good!

And Wednesday, today!  Today I went on a 7mile run and ran past the Ponte Vecchio and then back and forth over lots of bridges.  It reminds me of the “Double Bridges” run in Spokane!  Then I had a tour in Renaissance Architecture where we went to the Piazza della Signoria and walked through the streets and learned about the different buildings and statues.  Florence has so much history.  Then lunch happened and then Mechanics of Materials class.  I didn’t do anything too exciting this afternoon, just some math HW and then after dinner I went to a review for math at school and walked to the Duomo and got gelato.  I also walked past a group called “Firenze Corre”.  Turns out every Wednesday night a group meet and runs. I want to join some Wednsday night, I am going to bring Michele and I think it would be funny if we could convince Professor McKenzie to go too, since he has been talking about a cool 18 mile run he went on. 

Hmmm…what else?  I am staying in Hotel Cordova and all the Engineering students are in the same place so we all do homework together at the tables so we can get help.  It’s quite handy.  Breakfast is served every morning at 7:30 – 9:30 and there is usually granola, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, cereal, rolls, oranges and an assortment of jelly and nutella.  Lunch is at 1:00 and is the largest meal, so there is usually a pasta dish then a meat dish.  Today was a pasta with four cheese and then the next course was chicken and broccoli and a little ice cream bar.  Dinner is at 7:00 and tonight we had lentil soup and then a tomato and mozzarella stuffed puffed pastry thing and salad.  Truly every meal has been great so far!  Everything is so simple, and so tasty.  I love how much care is put in to all the food we eat.  So great!  I am absolutely loving everything about studying abroad right now. 

Tomorrow, Thursday, is the last day of classes for the week and then the three day weekend!  I think our pensione has an event planned for Friday night and then I might take a train somewhere on Saturday.  So many options and things to do all the time! 

Much love to everyone at home!

-Al

P.S. I can' figure out how to put pictures on here, look on my Facebook for those if you want.