Mom and Dad and Snow-magedon

Wow. I am far behind! All the kids left about a week ago. Fortunately, I refrained from any embarrassing emotional outbursts at the farewell dinner. I am very sad to see them go but know we will keep in touch.

The next day Mom and Dad arrived. We spent the next week running around Tuscany and visiting all the B museums in Florence. We went to Fiesole (where we had a lovely lunch and I met a friendly kitty) and Pisa where we all finally got to see the Leaning Tower. We made some pretty horrible attempts to take those tourist pictures where it looks like you are holding the tower up or pushing it over and failed miserably. We did, however, successfully make it into the Basilica which was absolutely stunning.

Back in Florence, we hit The Galileo Museum (saw Galileo's finger, thumb and tooth as well as crazy gynecological wax models and Michelangelo's compass set), Piazzale Michelangelo (for the view and San Miniato Basilica), The Medici Palace, San Lorenzo Basilica (and market), Palazzo Pitti (Caravaggio Exhibit), Palazzo Vecchio (traveling Damien Hirst exhibit of human skull encrusted in diamonds in amongst the preserved rooms of the palace), the Duomo, Santa Croce, The Strozzi (Bronzino Exhibit)..... I think that's everything! We also visited all the main sights -- the Ponte Vecchio, Piazza Signoria, etc. Needless to say, we did A LOT! I'm surprised Mom and Dad are still alive. We also managed to fit in a few really great meals. We ate at this place called Giostra that I have heard a lot of great things about. Turned out to be mind-blowing!

Mom and Dad also smuggled some American items into the country for me which I endlessly appreciate. My pantry is now fully stocked with velveeta (how else am I supposed to make casserole and grilled cheese? This country refuses to sell yellow cheese of any kind - unfair!) marshmallows, and ramen noodle soup! They also brought a new camera! Yeah! I can finally take pictures again!

On December 17th, Florence was inundated with an insane amount of snow. Coincidentally, is was Friday the 17th which is Italy's version of Friday the 13th -- a very unlucky day. I'm not totally sure how much snow we got but it was some where around 6-10 inches based on the layer of snow on the top of my building. It was absolutely beautiful but sent the city (and the rest of Tuscany and Italy in general) into a tailspin. While snow isn't terribly uncommon, the amount of snow and the fact that it came down so fast proved to be really troublesome for transit. The entire country is stranded now because the main highway between north and south is now a treacherous mix of ice and snow. Trains are also unable to run. All flights were cancelled until Monday. None of the streets in the historic district can be plowed because they are all made of brick. It's a mess. Needless, to say I was happy and comfortable to watch it all out my window with a mug of cocoa and my book. Thank goodness, Mom and Dad got out when they did and I hadn't booked any travel. The video was taken in the early morning just as it started to really snow. The photo was taken at about 9 at night with out any flash -- notice that it looks like dusk even though the sun set about 4 hours before this was taken. The white out of the snow and the cloud cover kept in all the city lights. You can see on the little roof in the foreground how much snow we got!

Well, yesterday my luck ran out because I woke up to find that my heater is no longer working. The heater both runs the radiators (my only source of heat) and the hot water for the apartment. I had a little bit of a breakdown but then pulled myself together and called my landlord. Unfortunately, he doesn't really speak English but he handed me off to someone else. He is currently stuck in Rome, unable to get back to Florence because of the weather -- which is beautiful now, but cold. He finally arranged for someone to come out -- apparently, finding someone to come on a Saturday is extremely difficult. I then waited for 8 hours for the guy to show up -- without heat, plus I'm filthy and need a shower.

The guy comes (He only speaks Italian and is enraged that I don't - he is also missing a finger which is always intriguing) and starts man-handling the machine. There is pounding and lights flickering. Then suddenly a loud bang and copious amounts of smoke. He opened the window to let out the smoke, but then left it open for an hour while he continued to tinker with the dead machine, which was awesome. At that point, from what I gather, the heater is dead and it will cost 400 Euro to fix. Plus he can't do it until Monday. Awesome. So no heat and no hot water for another 48 hrs. Obviously, my landlord will pay me back for the repairs but the no heat thing is pretty crazy. This morning it was 8 degrees Celsius in my house. That's like 45 degrees or something. Plus it's below freezing outside.

This morning I bathed in the sink. I turned on the oven and opened the door to let the kitchen heat up a little so I could take my shirt off. I heated up water on the stove and wet my hair with it over the sink, then shampooed and washed my face, etc. Then I heated up more water and poured it into the bedit, for other washing. It's almost like camping! All I have to say is thank goodness for all that contraband US food and sweaters my parents brought me last week. I would have starved as well as frozen to death. I would like to take this time to thank them and also thank the lord I still have electricity so I can plug in my little heating pad and use the oven to heat up the room a little bit.

So here I am, at the library, sucking up all the heat I can. I'm trying to post more pictures but the internet is being wacky. More soon.

Roma and Thanksgiving

Well, I know I've been slacking on this but I have a good excuse. I have been really busy at work, what with finals and the replacement of all the computers in the library. This has led to a lot of problems with the printer (which they totally installed wrong on all 12 computers) as well as setting up all of the internet settings and downloading stuff for the kids not to mention wiping all the old computers, etc. We also have a new program that tracks all of the users. Figuring that out has been interesting. The IT guys didn't speak English so everything was translated to me by someone else who doesn't really know very much about computers so I'm still not sure that I have all the info. Still working out the kinks with all of that and also working a lot as I have extended the hours for finals week.

I should give you all a recap of Roma. We left town early on Friday Nov 19th and got to Roma about 3 1/2 hours later. Along the way we stopped at an Italian version of a rest stop, complete with super store peddling tuscan specialty products, pizza, and cafe. It is, by far, the largest store I have been in the past 3 months. It felt totally American, which by now is alien but is also kinda nice to revisit.

Most of the students here are leaving Italy at the end of the semester. Some are moving on to other FSU international campus (London or Valencia, Spain) but most are headed home. The other day, Jenny and I were standing on a street corner here in Firenze, talking about her reintroduction to American food. She's nervous about returning to the world of processed food and is worried that it will make her sick for the first few weeks. She said she's going to try not to eat processed food as much as possible but I told her that it will be really difficult to keep up. Then I said, "Even their Coca-Cola is worse for you than ours" meaning that American coke is far worse than Italian coke products -- as if now I am an Italian rather than an American. Of course, I know that is far from true but the slip surprised me.

Anyway, Roma. Made it into town and right away the vastness of Rome compared to Firenze strikes you. The bus swung around a couple of corners and there was Trajan's Column. Trajan's. Freakin'. Column. Beyond that, the Colosseum. I have visited the full size copy in the V&A Museum in London twice and have been dying to see the original. Who doesn't dream of ROMA?! We swung around another corner and caught sight of bits of the Roman Forum. I've died and gone to heaven.

We stopped at the hotel. I got a cute little single complete with balcony! The balcony only overlooked an alley but it was nice to have anyway. The room came stocked with a toiletry kit including a razor, soap, shampoo, etc, which promptly went into my backpack along with 2 rolls of toilet paper. Yes, I am now that guy that steals toilet paper from hotels. A bunch of us found a salad place and I ate a giant salad that was awesome. Then the group met up to head to the Colosseum and Forum by way of Trajan's Column. God. I guess I hadn't prepared myself to be so struck by these things. We wandered around the Colosseum for a while with a professor who brought along a little book like the one Kristen gave me with the transparency reconstructions of all the sites of Roma! Kristen you were there with me that day! Here I was standing in the Colosseum -- still can't believe it. I'm still waiting for my new camera so no pics. I had everyone else take a bunch of me but haven't gotten them yet.

From there we walked to the Roman Forum which was amazing. The layers and layers of history are positively astounding and interesting. There was one church built inside the ruins of an old temple built atop the foundation of a pagan ruin. Crazy. I have been reading a lot of English literature about British or Germans traveling in Italy and especially Rome during the 18th century. Many of the books included engravings and it is really interesting to compare the present-day excavation and reconstruction to these old images. We lucked out and the rain cleared for the afternoon while we were walking around. We stopped on a little landing above the Forum where a little fountain bubbled water. I stuck my hand in a took a drink -- the water was super cold and tasted so good! There is a short story by Edith Wharton called Roman Fever -- couldn't help but think of it here -- great story.

From there, we walked to the cat sanctuary which is really a city blocks worth of Roman ruins that they let stray cats run around in. There were only about 10 cats around when we walked by, but it was cool to see them sitting on the broken fragments of columns, etc. Next, we walked to the Pantheon and visited Bernini's Elephant statue that is crowned with an ancient Egyptian obelisk. It is so interesting to see these things all over Roma, treasures stolen form Egypt during antiquity, still standing now. Sue (the Program Director) introduced us to a coffee shop in the piazza that sells granita di caffe laced with whipped cream -- so good.

We had a little break before dinner and a few of the girls and I skulked around the narrow streets around our hotel. Needless to say, in light of the mugging, I am still wary of Italy by night. A man stopped us and asked us in broken English if we could help locate the address he was looking for. I immediately said no and pointed him to a news stand a few feet away. Normally I would have hauled out my map and attempted to help him but I really have no tolerance for men I don't know anymore -- which is sad but I feel as if it's necessary. He barely approached the news stand then a few minutes later we saw him sitting on a bench a few feet away. There was something strange about it but nothing ever came of it. I'm not sure why I'm mentioning it now.

We had a group meal at a little restaurant, clad in ivy, a short walk from the hotel. We were treated to a pasta course followed by salad, fritti misti (assorted fried items) and veal saltimbocca alla Romana -- which apparently means "jumps in the mouth roman style" named so because it is so delicious. It's a thinly pounded veal steak topped with prosciutto in a butter, Marsala, and sage sauce. I liked it but the fritti misti was probably the crowning glory of that meal. The platter had mozzarella, whole fresh artichoke hearts, potato dumplings, little balls of rice mixed with marinara (or meat sauce - not sure) and mozzarella, zucchini strings, and zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese and anchovies -- all fried to golden perfection. I accidentally took a bite of zucchini flower not knowing it had anchovies in it until too late. Thankfully, I swallowed it whole and chugged enough wine to get rid of the taste. Fish crisis averted. To finish we had berry tiramisu which was ok. All and all another great group meal.

Following dinner, we walked the short distance to the The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or "Fountain of the Four Rivers" and Trevi Fountain. I threw in my three coins -- supposedly for love, marriage, and to ensure return to Rome. Not really sure about the marriage part but the other two sound good to me. Everything was beautiful at night and we stayed at Trevi for a while. Unfortunately, the usual hustlers that bother everyone with in sight around major tourists areas in Italy were out in full force, offering to take pictures or sell roses, trinkets, etc. The rose guys are the most annoying. They hand you a rose and even if you refuse it they keep insisting until you take it just to get them away from you. Then they wait until you start walking away then block your way and get way too close to you demanding money. They especially do this to children thinking that the child will throw a fit when their parent try to take the rose away from them insuring that the parent will then in turn just pay for the rose to shut everyone up. One of the guys kept bothering this couple with two small children and Kate and I stood watching the whole interaction shaking our heads. The couple eventually got the roses away from the children and gave them back to the man after a 5 minute battle during which the guy noticed us shaking our head at the annoyance. Then the rose guy came over to us and told us that we were interfering in his business (how we can do that from a distance of 20 feet is news to me). Then he made a little lunging gesture and offered to fight Kate! It was totally ridiculous and annoying. The fountain would have been so much nicer if these guys would have just left everyone alone instead of making everyone on edge, clutching their purses, etc. Oh well, it was still nice.

The next morning, we headed out the Vatican. I brought my rain boots with me but I knew that I would be inside all day, so I figured as long as I can get into the museum before the rain starts I should be fine. Well, just as the bus containing said rain boots pulled away from the curb it started pouring. Then we walked around the corner to find the line which we then stood in for two hours. In the rain. Without rain boots. It was pretty cold but we all made an umbrella roof and huddled together and it ended up being fun. We finally got into the Vatican Museum to find that it was absolutely PACKED to the hilt. I can't even imagine how it must be during the tourist season. We joined the one way flow of traffic and saw all the sculptures, map room, etc and ended our tour in the Sistine Chapel! It was pretty incredible. Smaller than I had pictured but I had attended an art history lecture a few days before about the chapel which made the experience even better. Toward the back of the chapel we tried to take the exit leading to St. Peter's Basilica only to find it blocked. Apparently, a bunch of cardinals were being sworn in or crowned or whatever (sorry Grammie but I don't know these things) in the piazza. This also meant that the basilica itself was closed! Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! I wanted to see the Pieta! Oh well, I am going to Roma again in January and again this summer so I will see it eventually. The rain persisted but we headed out to get pizza. We had about 2 hrs to kill before the were supposed to meet the group to head home. We shopped around a little bit trying to kill time and get out of the cold and rain (which by this point was a complete and utter deluge) but eventually we walked back to the Piazza and hung out under the loggia for the remainder of the time. About 2 minutes before we were scheduled to meet the group, the rain completely stopped and the sun came out -- go figure. We were all soaked but climbed onto the warm bus and changed clothes. I finally got to put on my rain boots -- but it didn't rain for the rest of the day.

Back on the bus, we headed to the Roman Catacombs just outside the old walls of the city. At about 60 feet underground we snaked through tunnels that at one time contained the bodies of ancient Romans. These people were so small! A few of the tombs still had their engraved grave markers and other had small frescoes. It was pretty cool but to be honest I got a little freaked out being in there. I was extremely dark and there were about a thousand different ways to get lost and die a slow death.

It was a great trip! Excited to back again in January and see some of the things I missed.

Ok, on to Thanksgiving. The Study Center set up a group meal at the nearby Palazzo Borghese, an absolutely stunning baroque old palace. I had to sit at the grown-up's table with the rest of the faculty members which was totally boring. By now everyone has heard how I got mugged and I had to answer a bunch of questions about it for the women and all the men just apologized to me repeatedly on behalf of their sex. After describing the incident (for about the millionth time) the general consensus at the table is that it definitely could not have been an Italian man because an Italian man would never treat a woman like that -- then they all commenced to speak about it in Italian - most of which I didn't catch. For the rest of the meal, they all tried for a while to speak in English to be polite because I was sitting there but after a while they gave up entirely which I didn't really mind. It's fun for me to try to figure out what they are saying.

As for the meal, which I'm sure you are dying to hear about, we had salad (with canned corn on it, of course), farro soup (a barley-ish grain), turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce (canned), mashed potatoes, peas, and pie. The turkey and soup were very good but the stuffing was borderline terrible. They put basil in the gravy as decoration or something and it made everything taste like pizza. It was by far the worst food I have had in Italy, but I think that is only because they were trying to imitate something that they don't quite understand - the protein, butter, and carbohydrate-laden delicious mess that is American food. Don't get me wrong, the food was certainly edible but any American from New York to LA would tell you it just didn't taste right. Plus they were stingy with the gravy which is arguably the most important part of Thanksgiving. The pumpkin pie, however, was a dream come true.

The rest of the weekend was devoted to movie watching, reading and baking cookies with some of the girls at my house. It was fun. I introduced them to the 90's classic movie called "Singles". I'm not sure any of them actually understood any of the pop culture references that were made in the movie but they all recognized how fashion has come full circle. It was pretty funny. Oh and on Sunday I went out for pizza and ran into someone I know from Orlando who now lives in New York. The world is so tiny.

Most of the students are gearing up to head home. I'm really going to miss a few of them. I can't believe how quickly this semester has flown by! Mom and Dad are flying in on the last day of the semester which I am super looking forward to! This weekend maybe heading to Arezzo and Cortona weather permitting. My last weekend with some of my girls. At this point, I am hoping beyond hope that I don't cry at the farewell dinner next week. So sappy. Luckily, I'll have Mom and Dad here to make up for it.

Boring

So this weekend.... it rained and I worked and stayed inside. I am waiting for my parents to bring my new camera in December, so no new pics. The scrapes on my knees suck. Every time I shower they get juicy. Currently, they are welded to the inside of my leggings and I am looking forward to having to rip them off later which will be awesome. Going to Rome this weekend so hopefully I will have something to report next week. Missing America and friends and family, despite all the wonderful people I have with me here. Trying to get Poland trip together. Miss and love everyone at home!

San Gimignano

This weekend visited San Gimignano with Kate. We took the train but got to the station a little late. I bought my ticket with only two minutes to spare to make it to the platform so we started running. That's right readers: I, Alexis Weimer, ran for two whole minutes! And I didn't die! Right before we got on, Kate remembered that I hadn't validated my ticket but seeing as we were so late and that they often don't check our tickets on the train, we just kept running. Anyway, we jumped on the train at the very last second and it started to move as soon as we got on. We got into our seats and talked for about 10 minutes before the conductor showed up and asked for our tickets. I presented mine thinking he would barely look at it, punch a hole in it and move on like usual. Um, I was wrong. He freaked out and started yelling at me because the ticket wasn't validated. I lied and told him that I had put it into the yellow machine (the validation stamp machine) and that nothing must have happened or that I didn't put the ticket in far enough (I can't even tell you how many times that's happened). So he just looks at me, lets out a little sarcastic laugh, and yells "40 euro!". Of course, I protested "are you serious? I have a ticket...blah blah blah" but he held his ground. So long story short, Kate and I had derailed our plans for Bologna because the train tickets would have cost about 40 euro but now because of the fine I ended up paying 50 euro to get to San Gimignano. I will NEVER forget to validate my ticket again.

Also, 4 other Americans sitting near us also forgot to validate their tickets and he charged them as well... but he only charged them 40 euro all together whereas he charged me 40 euro just for me. I can't even talk about it. I am still so pissed. The guy was a jerk. Clearly, I am a tourist and he should have let me go with a warning.

Anyway, so San Gimignano is called the "medieval Manhattan"

I started this post yesterday and sorry but I don't feel like finishing it. A few hours after I started this, I was mugged right in front of the Uffizzi at about midnight. I was walking home alone after going to the opera with the students. I'm not trying to be dramatic by posting this here but I would rather just say this once and get it over with.

The guy approached me and reached for my bag and I fought with him for some length of time. I don't know how long it was but it was probably only a about a minute or something. It ended with him knocking me to the ground, grabbing me by the hair and slamming his palm against my forehead to hit my head on the ground. Then I let go of the purse. I got up and started chasing him and screaming, "police, help, fire" and a couple of cars stopped and I saw the guy wrestling with someone else then break away and run again. I ran towards it and then I saw another guy walking toward me with my wallet. I went into attack mode and rushed him to get it out of his hand. The guy smiled and handed it to me. He had been the person I saw wrestling with the thief and somehow while wrestling, my purse dumped out and the good guy managed to get my wallet and my ipod. I just kept hugging him and saying thank you -- he only spoke Italian. I didn't even get his name but he totally saved me. All of my cash/credit cards/ID were still inside the wallet. My ipod doesn't even have a scratch. Everything else is gone including my sunglasses, camera, expensive favorite purse, and all of my makeup among other random things like chapstick ALL of my work keys and favorite bracelets.

Curiously, about 10 minutes before I was mugged I found a 20 euro bill on the ground. I was thrilled, thinking it was good karma after the 40 euro train violation. I actually said "thanks Florence, I love you!" out loud to myself then took my house keys out of my purse and put them in my pocket. Somehow, even though I was rolling around on the ground and getting punched in the face by a stranger I managed to hold on to that 20 euro bill and keep my keys in my pocket.

Just after getting my wallet and ipod from the good guy, I asked someone standing outside the Hotel Bernini (the place that I suggested my parents stay when they come to visit just yesterday) if he saw which way the guy went. Another man on a moped stopped and offered to look around for him. The guy at the Bernini turned out to be British (thank god - I needed to speak English). He was staying at the hotel and recommended that I go inside and call the police. He stayed with me, trying to get me to stop shaking for the next 20 minutes. Thank you universe for these friendly bystanders. The hotel refused to let me use the phone but did call me a cab. Luckily, I hadn't lost my house keys in the struggle so I took the cab to my house and went upstairs to call Sue (the Director of the study center). It wasn't until she answered the phone that I finally started sobbing. We talked for a while. I wanted to call my parents but I knew I would be hysterical and would just scare them. By this time it was after 1:00 am. So I spent a sleepless night on the couch replaying what happened and what I would have done differently until 8am.

Today I have some major bruises and busted knees. I am ok. I'm just scared. I'm just afraid that I'm going to be afraid to walk around by myself now. I feel like Florence has betrayed me and I don't trust her anymore. I have to go to the police station to file a report now.

Random Florence Photo

Was out for a walk last week and stopped to eat my gelato on the steps of the Duomo where I came across this lovely sunset! I would like to take a moment to thank my gelato addiction for making my life better and more full as usual.

Thank you gelato!

Orvieto

This week was considerably less crazy than the last month. Everyone had a five day weekend but me, so most everyone traveled leaving me alone to my own devices.

Did make it to the Bargello and Pitti Palace last Tuesday for the free event. Both were wonderful and nearly empty which was fabulous. The Caravaggio exhibit at the palace was awesome and the household items exhibit at the Bargello was so interesting. Combined they are better the Uffizzi.

Thursday night, about 7 or 8 of us decided to go to aperitivo and then out on the town. As usual, aperitivo was a stunning array of awesomeness. I had a margarita that was borderline terrible but terrifically alcoholic and ate a crazy amount of appetizers. Appetizers are one of my favorite food groups, so aperitivo and I get along very nicely. We were there for about 2 hours stuffing our faces with meatballs, mini calzones, focaccia sandwiches, pasta dishes, caprese, olives, and some kind of mashed potato casserole and we got a huge cocktail for only 10 euro. We went to Goldenview again which has a lovely view of the Arno and Ponte Vecchio.

From there, Kate and I went to Via Romana (the student housing) to freshen up and then met everyone at the Lion's Fountain near school. It's an Irish pub that I've mentioned before and the only reason I continue to go there is because they give us unbelievable drink specials. Later on we decided to leave and try a couple of bars by my house only to find them completely empty and expensive, so back to Lion's. Here's Joey doing some very impressive Karaoke. Notice the Halloween decorations, which are not uncommon around Firenze. All of the dollar stores are full of cheap costumes and decorations which surprised me. I couldn't figure out how the kids would actually trick or treat considering that all the apartment buildings are guarded by locked doors. Turns out the little darlings simply run from building to building mashing on ALL the buzzers until some poor soul comes down at least 2 flights of stairs to give them candy -- which, I gather, doesn't actually happen that often. They also hit every open business they can find. I think the restaurant I was in gave out cookies or biscotti or something in lieu of candy.

It is decidedly Fall here and I've turned on the heat in my apartment. If we had any trees in Firenze there would be Fall leaves -- I have had the pleasure of seeing them in other places. The rainy season is also officially upon us. It rained most of this weekend which kept me indoors probably more so than the past two months combined.

Luckily, we had a lovely day on Saturday. Andrea and I headed to Orvieto to look around. It is in Umbria, the green heart of Italy and it was, in fact, very green compared to Tuscany and very beautiful. We got on the train around 9am and ended up in Orvieto around noon. For 15 euro we purchased a combined student pass to all of the major sites. We started in the Orvieto Underground. The city sits atop a butte of compressed volcanic ash, not to be confused with volcanic rock. The compressed ash is easy to excavate and the city's inhabitants have been digging tunnels, water shifts, cellars, and escape routes for thousands of years. Orvieto has been inhabited on and off since the Etruscan Era -- the local archeology museum houses many pots, a few murals, and even some armor.
The first underground room we entered acted as an olive oil mill (see mill stone to the left of the first picture) for a couple hundred years, then a wine cellar. The room itself was originally dug out by the Etruscans as a place of worship, then repurposed as needed over the centuries. The other picture shows a room with a bunch of little square holes in the wall. These rooms were plentiful and used to house and farm pigeons. The young birds were a delicacy and apparently pigeon farmers made a tidy profit. The stairs led to the farmers home on top of the butte. A small tunnel opened to the valley below so the pigeons could gather food for their chicks.

It was really interesting and it also gave us some great views of the valley and an ancient monastery-turned-hotel at the bottom of the valley. Since the volcanic ash is so easy to dig into, you can also imagine how unstable it is. Scholars believe that the butte has already lost over 1/3 of its original area. In many places the underground tunnels have caved in, damaging homes above. All around the outside of the butte you can see where layers of the butte have fallen away into the valley exposing old caverns. Apparently, there was also some mining that occured in the 17th century (the ash was used to make concrete) which also compromised the stability of the town above.

From there we explored Orvieto's Duomo, which was truly stunning. The mosaic and marble work outside are exquisite. The back and sites of the church are pleasantly striped, which I can't seem to get enough of. Inside was an interesting chapel housing reliquaries (whole skull!!), another chapel has very interesting frescoes -- the colors are extremely brilliant and the figures are more cartoonish. They seemed very contemporary but were actually painted in the 15th century. One scene shows the horrors of hell, complete with demon carrying the whore of the apocalypse on his back. Whoa.

We stopped for lunch at lovely bistro. There was no sign, it was tucked back on a little street, and it was packed with Italians, so we figured we picked a good place. Andrea had gnocchi with spinach and truffles and I had potato and taleggio ravioli with a zucchini sauce that I could not figure out. It was super good but I have no idea what I was actually eating. The sauce tasted buttery but was also creamy but clearly did not have cream in it. Seemed like the texture of grated onion but it wasn't oniony. I don't know. It was awesome.

We visited the three museums in town and also climbed to the top of the clock tower (240 steps!!). My thighs were burning but I made it and it was well worth the view. 365 degrees of beautiful countryside complete with rolling hills, vineyards, olive groves, and distant mountain views. It was a really beautiful day and we were up there all by ourselves! On the way down the stairs we passed a black lab on his way up with his owners. Italy is ridiculously dog friendly. I've seen them in grocery stores, in bars, wandering around by themselves in shoe stores (don't all dogs instinctually chew shoes?) and now at historical monuments. Piazzas are dog playgrounds. Bring Conifer when you visit, Kristen.

All in all a lovely day. We got back to Firenze around 9. The next morning, I awoke to soaking rain and stayed inside all day. Every time I tried to leave it was absolutely pouring. Around 7, I met Andrea for dinner (still raining). I donned my new rain boots and slogged my way about a mile to the restaurant. The boots are heavy and acted like ankle weights but after a long day laying down I really wanted the exercise. I had amazing meatloaf with a balsamic vinegar/onion reduction and roasted potatoes. Dude. It was so good.

After dinner, we walked around for a while hoping to see some Halloween revelers. I think we were out around 9 and I think we were in between the trick or treaters and the party set because no one was out. We walked the circuit between the Duomo and the Piazza Signoria twice and didn't see much going on -- except for the carabinieri chasing off the guys selling designer knock off bags near Piazza Repubblica per usual.

Despite the rain, it was a great weekend. A big change from all the running around I have been doing. It's good to take a break and slow down a little but really it's also boring. I'm totally used to traveling all the time now and I don't want to stop! Trying now to organize trips for the Winter Break. If anyone is planning on visiting, let me know soon so I'll stay in town! Otherwise, trying to get together trips to Seville, Prague, Amsterdam, and Warsaw. Bologna this weekend!

London and Dublin

Spent a wonderful 10 days with Carolyn and Kimmie in London and Dublin! We left Florence around 6pm on Thursday, October 14th bound for the Pisa airport by bus. We caught our plane for London but ended up getting in about an hour late. By the time we reached London it was already about 1am. We had pre-booked our bus into the city but the late arrival of our plane not only made us miss our bus, but we also missed the last bus until 7am the next morning.

We looked at each other thinking we would have to spend the night in the airport. But then the bus company announced that they had specially ordered another bus to take us into the city! YEAH!

We ended up reaching London around 3am. As the bus snaked its way through the city we got a moonlit tour of all the major attractions including Big Ben, Parliament, The Thames, The London Eye, Trafalgar Square, etc. It was so beautiful at night with most of the streets empty. We made our way to the hostel. We knew that we would be getting into London really late and I booked our accommodations accordingly but you never know what you are going to find when you arrive especially how the neighborhood will be, etc. We lucked out! We were staying in the Westminster neighborhood near Buckingham Palace and the street the hostel is on is so nice. We checked in with no problems and climbed the stairs to our room. We had a 6 person room with a bathroom in the hallway. We got our pj's out of our bags in the hallway and changed in the bathrooms before going in because it was so late. From our window we had a view of the London Eye and Parliament! We crawled into our super comfy bunk beds and passed out.

The next morning we got up and dressed for a windy day of sight-seeing. During her morning stretch, Kimmie grabbed onto the top bunk and arched her back proclaiming, "I learned this from my cat!". She was completely serious and I almost died laughing. I knew it was going to be a good day. I decided to bring my winter coat at the last minute and I am soooo glad I did. In the mornings it was below freezing. The hostel was cozy and warm which was totally deceiving. Every time we tripped out the door we were met by a cold blast of air from the Thames. We did get a day or two that was a little warmer (sweater weather) but I wore leggings under my jeans on most days. We were really lucky though and didn't get much rain for most of the trip. Each morning the hostel provided breakfast (cereal, tea, toast, and oatmeal) which was really nice. It also offered an opportunity to stare at everyone else staying there which was probably the best part. For the most part, most everyone staying in the hostel was European and you hear every language imaginable while eating your cereal. There were also a lot of Chinese and Japanese tourists. I was kind of surprised to see how much luggage most people had though. I was expecting more backpackers and it turned out to be mostly people with large rolling bags like the one I used to move to Italy. Anyway, everyone was really nice. We had three roommates during our stay - two Chinese and one French. None spoke English but they all understood American pop music and facebook.

Our first stop upon leaving the hostel was the PHARMACY!!! BOOT'S PHARMACY!!! Ever since I got sick a month ago I have been dreaming of Boot's. I had been telling Kimmie and Carolyn about it and we found one right near the hostel. The second we entered, all three of us let out little gasps of wonder. You have never seen 3 girls so excited over vitamins, hair products, and over-the-counter medications. Italy has a lot to offer, but there is no benadryl, no multi-vitamins, and certainly not my favorite English hair pomade that I can't even get in the States!!! Anyway, they also have food which is really good and really cheap. We ate there about 10 times.

Over the next 5 days we hit every major historical site and museum in town. I am blessed with two girls that love museums and walking around as much as I do and we hit the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, British Museum, the Tate Modern, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Got to see the Rosetta Stone again as well as countless master works by artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Vermeer, and also this which I find so striking. It is a portrait of the artist's wife. I saw it the first time I visited the National Gallery and hoped to see it again. I found it and stared for awhile -- one of my favorite things to do. In person, the fabric of her dress and the hairs on the back of her neck are absolutely mesmerizing. We also visited the Tower of London and saw the site of the beheading of Anne Boleyn and countless others as well as the crown jewels. We visited Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Trafalgar Square and also the FSU London Study Center where I lived while in London last year. We spent a couple of hours at Westminster Abbey gawking at Queen Elizabeth's tomb and the burial sites of Kipling, Newton, and memorials to Shakespeare and Jane Austen among others. So much amazing history!

We also spent some time in pubs eating bacon, pot pies and POTATOES! We don't ever really get potatoes in Florence and apparently I've missed them. One night we went out for a night on the town and ended up in Soho at a club called On Anon. It was fun and packed and we danced and had really expensive drinks. Met many strange people from all over the world and the occasional Brit. Very fun.

I absolutely love London. It strikes me as a place I could easily make my home. The people are all so polite and ready to offer directions or help. Love the Tube and the culture. It was a great five days.

Then we headed to Dublin on the 19th. We hopped on the city bus to get from the airport to the hostel. About 10 minutes into the trip we realized that even though we knew which stop to get off, none of the stops were labeled or announced. Another passenger overheard us talking about it and offered to tell us where to get off. A few minutes later when we were wondering around trying to find the actual hostel another man offered to lead us there! We didn't even have to ask for help. Throughout my stay in the UK, I was continually impressed by the politeness and helpfulness of both the Irish and the Brits.

The Dublin hostel wasn't as cute as the London hostel but we had a private room and bathroom. It was located off a busy shopping district, a few minutes from most of the major sites of Dublin. We got some tips from the staff at the London hostel about what to see in Dublin and we hit the streets right away to do some shopping. We found a store called Penney's that sells cheap clothes and bought a couple of things. Then we walked over to the Grafton Shopping District and tried to find the Trinity College campus passing the former parliament house. We looked everywhere and couldn't find it. The next day a passerby overheard us talking about it and pointed to a building and said "there it is!". It was totally unmarked but we walked through the front door to find that the whole campus laid just behind it. The campus library houses the Book of Kells and an impressive rare book collection. We paid an entrance fee and I was in librarian heaven for the next hour. Look at this. Totally cool! I really wish I had spent the time to look into a little Irish history before the trip. I know that I must have seen some really impressive things at the library I just didn't have any frame of reference. Goes to show that it always pays to do your homework.

After that, we went to the Irish National Gallery. The collection was small but really impressive. The had a sizable Irish artist collection that I really loved including a painting that I can't remember the name of and I can't find on the internet despite an exhaustive search. Anyway, it was great and also free. I love Europe's free museums! Tomorrow, all of the museums are open free to the public from 7pm-11pm and I can't wait. Hopefully, I will finally make it in to see the David or Michelangelo's stairs at the Laurentian Library. Besides the fact that it's free, I'm also hoping that the lateness of the hour will mean that it won't be packed. I love museums the most when they are almost empty. The gallery in Dublin was almost empty and it made the experience so wonderful.

Back to the story... Over the next two days we walked around the city, which is smaller than I was expecting, and visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral and Dublin Castle. We found a local library with another rare book exhibit which was wonderful. St. Patrick's was really interesting -- Jonathan Swift is buried there. Also, thought of Grammie K the whole time! We also shopped a lot and spent some time in pubs meeting the locals. The pubs are crammed with men mostly and very few women. I wasn't sure if that meant that women weren't supposed to be there or not but the local guys were happy to see Kimmie and Carolyn. Every pub we visited had live Irish music with a little Johnny Cash mixed in. Everyone really does sing along and do Irish jigs in between shots of whiskey and pints of Guinness. It was really fun and nice to be out of the cold. It was freezing! We all had about 5 layers on and I bought a hat and sweater.

Our last day in Dublin, we booked a bus tour that took us up to Northern Ireland. Everyone we talked to in Dublin said that we hadn't seen Ireland if we didn't leave Dublin and all had advice on where to visit. In the end we chose the Giant's Causeway and Belfast. We spent a lot of time on the bus but got to see endless hours of beautiful Irish countryside along the way. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible but we chocked it up to a REAL Irish experience. It was about around 40 degrees accompanied by wind and driving (sometimes freezing!) rain.

First stop was Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland (which, by the way, uses pounds rather than euros like the rest of Ireland - so I had to switch currency - and exchange rates - for the day). As we pulled into the city the tour guide regaled us with tales of "the Troubles" between Great Britain (Protestants) and Ireland (Catholics). It is all very confusing to me as it has both political and religious implications that are hard to sort out. I had brought up the topic of the British to an Irish guy in a pub a few days before and I asked him if the Irish are still anti-Great Britain. He said, "Yeah, we all hate the English!" without mincing words. Very interesting. Anyway, there were tons of bombings between the late 60's and early 90's ending with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Apparently, about two weeks ago the IRA bombed a store which is now surrounded with chainlink fence and barbed wire, the windows shattered by shrapnel and a lovely blast hole in the ground. Sorry folks, no pictures. Suffice to say that it made us all a little uneasy, but the city really is beautiful and I'm sorry that we didn't get to spend more time there, bombs or not.

Leaving Belfast, we visited this rope bridge (which I failed to take actual pictures of). It was so beautiful but we got totally soaked! I was worried that the rain would ruin my camera or the wind would knock it out of my hand, hence the lack of pictures. We scurried up the path to the bridge (about 15 minute walk) then across the bridge as fast a we could. The cliffs were really stunning, I wish that we could have stayed out there longer but the weather was really bad. This was totally worth braving the rain:



From there we headed to the Giant's Causeway - a volcanic rock formation that looks like honeycomb. By then the rain had stopped and we messed around in the tide pools and scrambled over boulders for an hour or so. It was so fun! We had a lovely lunch at a nearby hotel (bacon cheddar burgers with english mustard and chips!) then loaded back on the bus to Derry (or Londonderry depending on who you ask). We were still soaked from messing around outside and absolutely freezing. They let us off the bus for an hour in Derry. The only thing close to the bus stop was a mall and we all ran inside and bought new shoes and socks. I got galoshes for only 12 euro! That's 10 euro cheaper than any that I've seen in Florence!!! Yeah! I totally needed them anyway. In fact, last night we had a crazy, deafeningly loud lightening storm. I had no idea it rains like that here! I don't know what made the lightening so loud. Maybe the lack of greenspace and the channels created by the buildings but it kept me up forever even though I was exhausted. I grew up in the lightening capital of the world, and this storm definitely impressed me! So anyway, it was still raining hard this morning and off and on all day so I got to wear my new rain boots! Hooray!

So from there, we drove up the coast a ways, past farms and A LOT of sheep. We rounded a bend and stopped at this amazing ruin of a medieval castle perched on a cliff right above the sea. So cool.

We headed home the next day, VERY early in the morning. Our plan left at 6am and we were safely back in Firenze by 4pm. When we arrived all the Italians were out for their evening stroll around the piazzas and it was easily 20 degrees warmer than anywhere we had been for the past 10 days. My backpack and I headed home past the Duomo, past Santa Croce, up 5 flights of stairs and onto the couch. I was exhausted. I gathered all of my laundry, threw it in the washing machine and went to the grocery store. Bought some salad, salami, focaccia, mozzarella, and two tomatoes. Went home to battle with my gas stove so I could toast a sandwich which I then covered with dressed salad and ate in about 10 minutes. I sat on the couch for about 10 more minutes before I got completely bored and went for a walk. Did my usual circuit through Santa Croce, past the Duomo, turned toward the Bargello then up through Piazza Signoria then back to Santa Croce. Then broke down and got a gelato, even though I promised myself that I would STOP EATING GELATO! Seriously, it's turned into a daily habit -- sometimes twice a day. It's just so good! Got back to my house around 8 and passed out by 9. Thank you again Mom and Dad for my down comforter! It is saving me from my freezing apartment. Last night it was 54 degrees inside -- colder than it was outside.

So, fast forward to today, Tuesday. Tonight I have a date with Kimmie to eat pasta then go to museums. They are open for free from 7-11pm tonight and the last Tuesdays for the next two months! I'm totally excited to finally see the David and visit the Palazzo Pitti.

Paris and Versailles

Found some amazingly cheap (70 Euro roundtrip!) train tickets to Paris, so Kimmie and Carolyn and another student named Karen all headed to France for the weekend. We booked this trip only about a week into the semester, so at the time we had no idea what we were in for. I'll start this story by saying that I really did have a great time in Paris with the girls and would not trade the experience for anything. I know I will laugh about some of the things that happened along the way for the rest of my life! Having said that, here's how I spent my weekend:

The trip started normally enough. I had made most of the travel arrangements and done most of the planning, so prior to the start of the trip I announced that as compensation for my hard work, I was entitled to the largest bed on the overnight train to Paris. This was my first time spending the night on a train so I really had no idea what to expect. I looked at a few pictures on the internet that showed the little cabins (called cuccettes) had bunkbeds. No biggie. The travel agent told us that we had been booked into a 4 person cabin so we would have it all to ourselves. Upon boarding the train, we found that they had stuck two other people into our small cabin, a man and a women both traveling alone. Thankfully, it worked out that they both were very nice, but I had read in the past that they usually don't mix sexes in the cabins if they are not all in the same traveling party. Apparently, I have been misinformed. Regardless, it ended up being fine because the man (from Spain) was very nice and seemed to be able to put up with us.

Because the cabin is so small, we hurried to put our things away and settle into our seats. Two beds (the largest) are at the top of the cabin. The seating converts into the other 4 beds. Karen jumped up into one of the top bunks right away. I didn't really think anything of it because it was only about 8pm and we would travel for a while before we hit the sheets. Let's just say that this girl Karen is not someone Kimmie, Caro or I would consider a friend. Actually, she is sort of an outcast in the group because she is really aggressive, difficult to talk to, and for a lack of a better word, weird. Of course we didn't know any of this when she decided to book the trip with us over a month ago.

The train pulls out from the station and we are all talking and looking out the windows. Karen produces a bottle of wine from her bag and starts chugging it and singing out loud to her Ipod. Then she takes off her shoes (mind you this is the bed that I am supposedly sleeping on later). Then from HER BRA, she produces a pocket knife which she flicks open and starts hacking away at a callous/blister on the sole of her foot letting the little skin bits fall to the floor. Kimmie, Carolyn and I stare at each other for a moment with huge eyes before simultaneously yelling at her to stop. She initially refuses but eventually concedes. She then returns to her wine-swilling and then lifts her leg and audibly passes gas. Needless to say, we were all horrified. This was about 30 minutes into the trip and already I am at my limit with this girl. There were more incidents throughout the train trip, most of which I will spare you, dear reader.

Ok, so then it's time for bed. Karen has taken up residence in my bed and fallen asleep. We are all so relieved that she has stopped embarrassing us/disturbing the entire cabin that I give up the dream of the good bed and opt for one of the lower berths. At the time, we weren't really clear whose bed was whose, so we let the other two people have the center berths and Caro and I took the bottom two. I figured they were all the same. Well, I has horribly wrong. The bottom berth is about 1/3 smaller than the other 2. The head rests from the seats that convert into the bed intrude on the sleeping space, making it much smaller. The bottom part that you lie on is tilted up so there is no flat surface to sleep on. I aborted my first attempt to get into the berth because I got totally closterfobic! I had to leave the cabin and walk around for a few minutes. Thankfully, one of the girls had tylenol PM. I popped a couple of those, squeezed myself in there laying flat on my back. I got my book out and attempted to read but it was so small that I couldn't the book far enough from my face to read! I found the only position that was remotely comfortable and stared out into the small open space between the berths trying not to think about how cramped and honestly scared I was being in there. I'm not kidding -- it was like being in a coffin. I caught a few snatches of sleep but it was a restless night.

In the morning, I waited for everyone else to wake up. The train was slated to arrive around 9 am but was running about 1 hour late. We all got up, dismantled the beds, passed around the salami, crackers and cheese we had brought for breakfast and stared out the window at the beautiful French countryside. Karen insisted on changing in the cabin (getting completely topless at one point) even though we told her repeatedly that it was completely inappropriate. We finally arrived at the station and headed to the hotel.

We hopped on the metro and arrived quickly and easily. I love the metro! Paris is such a huge contrast to Florence! It seems so… civilized is the only word that comes to mind. It is so metropolitan and the phones work. You can actually get a taxi on the street and they have public transportation! Everything is on a much larger scale and they have sidewalks! Vehicles follow traffic signals and there are crosswalks! Incredible! I hadn’t really been missing any of these luxuries until getting to Paris and realizing that I was living an impoverished existence without them. Don’t misunderstand me, Florence and Italian culture in general have my whole heart, but visiting Paris gave me a little taste of the modern world that I had conveniently forgotten. We checked into our hotel then headed to lunch. We found a great little bistro and we had quiche, croque monsieur, and french onion soup. Oh la la!

We spent the rest of the day walking around the city visiting the Tuileries Gardens then walking along the Seine Past the Musee D'Orsay toward Place de la Concorde. We took pictures of the obelisk then crossed the street. As soon as we crossed the street we were swarmed by a bunch of kids ranging in age from about 8 to 15. It was really chaotic and 2 of them kept shoving these folders with a petition or something that looked like one right in my face. Then an older boy did the same thing. I instinctively reached down for my purse and when I looked down I saw that he was trying to reach inside it. GYPSIES!!! I pushed the kid's hand away and said "arret!" He started making kissing noises at me to get my attention back up to his face but I just moved away from him. Then all of the sudden all the kids started running away. We all got our bearings and checked our purses, luckily nothing was gone. Karen, of course, was enraged and borderline hysterical. We came across the kids again a few minutes later and, I couldn't make this up if I tried, she got out her pocket knife and brandished it at the kids while shouting obscenities in English. Of course, I yelled at her because you can't just threaten people on the street with knives. Duh. This was apparently a new concept for her.

Anyway, we walked from there up the Champs Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe. After some pictures, we hopped on the metro bound for the Eiffel Tower. Then we headed to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

We found a really cute bistro right near the hotel which was about a five minute walk from the Louvre and had a lovely meal. I had steak au poivre with the best potato gratin ever made. Karen had the roasted chicken which she proceeded to eat with her hands like an animal. She asked, rather she demanded, a taste of my food and when I cut a piece and handed it to her on my fork, she reached across the table and took it off my fork with her hands. Her hands! Again, Kimmie, Caro and I spent the rest of the evening horrified by her behavior. Of course we tried to correct her repeatedly or suggest that she not use her hands to eat but she always shrugged it off saying that she didn’t care what people think. Apparently, consideration for other people and common table manners are also new concepts.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and collapsed into bed. At about 4am I woke to the most delicious smell in the entire universe. I remembered seeing a bakery downstairs and figured that they were preparing the next day’s items. When we headed out the next morning (Saturday) we stopped by the bakery for breakfast and discovered that in fact that glorious smell was jambon et fromage croissants! So amazing!

From there, Caro, Kimmie and I boarded a regional train for Versailles. Thankfully Karen decided not to join us. We spent the entire day roaming the palace and gardens and the Grand and Petite Trianon as well as visiting Marie Antoinette’s hamlet. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and it was amazing to think that we were walking in the footsteps of royals as well as all the major historical events that occurred there. We were there for a full 7 hours and only left because the palace was closing for the day. It was a great experience.

We took the train home and met Karen for dinner. We walked toward Notre Dame and the lively Latin Quarter. We browsed the menus at some of the bistros and settled on one that offered a prix fixe for 13 Euro. When we sat down and looked over the menu, Karen asked if they had any side items. I explained that prix fixe menus include different courses to which she countered that she only had 8 euro to spend on dinner. 8 euro! You can’t get a coke in Paris for 8 euro. I had heard stories about her borrowing money from other people in the program and not paying them back so I told her that if she didn’t think she could afford to eat there then we could leave and find somewhere else to eat and that I couldn’t cover her meal. She said no that she had the money and that she wanted to eat. So we ordered. I had French onion soup and when Karen asked for a taste she complained that the bite I gave her didn’t have any cheese on it. When the bill came Caro, Kimmie and I all anted up but Karen just sat there putting on lipstick. When I asked her for her share of the bill (18 euro) she said, “I’ll just pay you later.” I almost exploded. Rather than making a scene in the restaurant, I paid her share. Needless to say, I was angry but I was exhausted and didn’t have the energy to fight with her. When we got home she decided to strip down to her thong and carve at the bottom of her feet in front of a window where she was clearly visible to other people staying at the hotel. All of us pleaded with her to get dressed and stop picking at her feet with a pocket knife but she refused. She left a pile of skin next to the bed. Eventually she put on pajamas but when we woke up in the morning she was buck naked again. I swear I am not making any of this up.

The next day (Sunday), we had breakfast – lovely potato, ham, and swiss omelet and the most expensive cup of Earl Grey known to man – and then Kimmie, Caro and I visited the Louvre for a little bit. Kimmie and I split off and visited Sainte Chapelle (the nave was being restored which kind of ruined it L) and Notre Dame. I also had a crepe with nutella at some point. We met back at the hotel at 4 then went to the train station to catch the train. We had dinner nearby – ham and cheese on baguette (Jessica’s favorite!). The train ride home was mostly uneventful. The lovely Italian couple who got stuck traveling in our cabin with us helped us with our Italian pronunciation. It was so fun! Later, Karen came on to one of the conductors, promising to meet him later for some kind of tryst then reneged. The conductor continued to bother us all night long in an attempt to get Karen to come out of the cabin. It was totally embarrassing. I slept pretty well and woke up back in Florence around 7am. Karen got topless in the cabin once again. Horrifying.

Kimmie and I walked past the Duomo on the way to my house. The piazza was almost empty and the sun was just coming up. What a nice way to end a crazy trip! As much as the lights and bustle of Paris seemed wonderful at the time, it was so nice to return to sleepy, Ocre-colored Florence. I had just enough time to drop off my stuff at home, get cleaned up, and head to work for the day. Trust me there are plenty of Karen anecdotes that I left out of this post due to their explicit nature. Every moment we spent with her was like a complete freak show. Regardless, I had a great time with Kimmie and Carolyn.

On Thursday, the girls and I are heading to London for 5 days, then Dublin for another 5! Must pack tonight because we leave right after work tomorrow. I am so excited to see London again. Love that city. Hopefully I will make it to Piccadilly Circus, the National Portrait Gallery and Buckingham Palace this time! The weather should be chilly (high of 55 degrees) so I am nervous about what to pack. Coat or no coat? Also, excited for free museums! Ciao!