Monday, November 29, 2010

a taste of home!

Walking along the water in Sliema, Malta ^
a great view in the citadel of Gozo, Malta ^
Red sand beach in Gozo, Malta ^
Calypso's cave in Gozo, Malta ^
21st birthday drink ^ Gozo, Malta
St. Peters, Vatican, Rome, Italy
Trevi Fountain. Rome, Italy. Liz, Michelle, Devon, Me ^
Colosseum. Rome, Italy. ^ 

I just received a care package from my mom! Yes I know that I am in italy with the best food imaginable, yet I do miss some of my American junk food. Here's what i got:

sunflower seeds
trader joes creamy tomato soup
hot cheetos 
dried mangoes
trail mix
fun dip
skittles
sour skittles
starbucks ready brew iced coffee
hot cocoa
crystal light 
boston baked beans
oatmeal
sudafed medicine
gel pens 
skippy peanut butter
campbells chicken noodle soup 
crest toothpaste 
taco seasoning
HOME BAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!

most of these things you cannot find in italy. They have oatmeal, peanut butter, and taco seasoning, but it is ridiculously expensive!!!! So, thanks mom!!!!!!! 
anyway,
I went to Rome 2 weeks ago and loved it! it was extremely different from Florence. For starters it's a huge city and you have to take the metro everywhere. I went to all the sights in ancient rome and everything was extremely interesting. Then we went to the vatican. It was pouring, but we got in right away because we were on a school field trip and had reservations. The Sistine chapel was beautiful. I was so happy I took an Art History class back at sonoma, because I actually knew what I was looking at on the ceiling. By far, my favorite part about rome was the Trevi Fountain. It was huge!!!! I didn't expect it to be that big, so it pretty much blew my mind! My school organized everything for us and we all stayed at a 4 star hotel!!! We all felt like royalty compared to all the hostels we stay at when traveling on our own. We all definitely took advantage of the heater, and long hot showers. 
The weekend before Rome, I went to Malta! I fell head over heels in love with Malta. I want to go back sooooo bad! The weather was beautiful (in the high 70s) and I was wearing flip flops for the first time in a long time! I spent my 21st birthday there, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Devon and I went to a small island off malta (called Gozo) and roamed around it all day. My first "legal by USA standards" drink was a sex on the beach. My second was  a bloody mary and my third was a kamakazee. It was definitely a great and relaxing day. Malta is my second favorite country, because of course Italy is number 1 :)
This weekend, we are going on another school field trip to Ravenna. This trip is from Friday-Sunday. I'm hoping we stay in a nice hotel again!
It is getting REALLY REALLY COLD HERE!!!!! My daily outfits include many layers, gloves, a scarf, and a hat. And its not even December yet!!!!!
Ali, my friend/roomate from sonoma is coming to italy in less than a month! She gets here December 27th. maaaan am I excited! We are planning on traveling to France and meeting up with Cathy, my friend since kindergarten, since she will be there on vacation! 

On yet another brighter note, I found the most adorable coffee shop! In most coffee shops here, you order your coffee and usually drink it standing at the bar, because they charge you extra to sit down. But, this place I found doesn't do that! It is two stories and it is loft style. All the furniture is mix matched, and there are book shelves everywhere filled with a million books. You can sit in there as long as you would like, and they are always playing jazz music. My new favorite thing  is to go there and order coffee or hot chocolate, and read for hours. It kind of reminds me of the coffee shop in the TV show, Friends, yet waaaaay cuter!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

getting into a routine

Real school started last Tuesday. By real school, I mean our fall semester. The first two months I have been here, my classes were considered summer school classes. Those classes were Beginning Italian 2 and Italian Culture. Grades were posted and I got A's in both. My schedule is as follows for fall semester:

Monday: Italian Literature + Film: 11:30am-12:50pm
Italian reading and conversation: 6:30pm-8:20pm
Tuesday: Italian Literature: 10:00am- 12:45pm
Intermediate Italian 1: 1:30pm-3:30pm
Italian Opera: 5:30pm-8:15pm
Wednesday: Italian Literature + Film: 11:30am- 12:50pm
Italian reading and conversation: 6:30pm-8:20pm
Thursday: Intermediate Italian 1: 1:30pm-3:30pm
Friday: No class!

I like my schedule, but Tuesday is definitely a rough day. I like all my teachers, especially my Italian reading and conversation teacher, Carlo. He is really funny!! I am really glad that now I have a routine because I felt like I was still in summer mode up until last week.
I just bought some yarn today, and my roommate Liz is going to teach me how to knit and crochet. I am really excited to make some scarves, especially since it is getting so cold here!!! I have been wearing many layers when I go outside now. It is especially cold after my night classes. It's been pouring day and night and lots of thunder! It is only November, so I can't imagine how cold it will get in December and January! On a warmer note, I am going to Malta this weekend!!!!! I am going there for my 21st birthday with my roommate Devon. It is going to be a lot warmer there compared to Italy. I absolutely cannot wait!!! 
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I am really sad that I am going to miss it. It is my favorite holiday. I am not sure if my roomies and I are going to try to make a make-shift thanksgiving dinner or go travel instead. We will see. 

Ciaooooo

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Barcelona and Milan

                                              Just a few hours after Lauren got here! ^
                                              Yes, the stairs really were that steep!!! ^
                   Lauren and I climbing 400-something steps to the top of Florence's Duomo ^
                                             Beach in Barcelona at night ^
                                            Boat tour on the coast of Barcelona ^
                                            Sangria in Barcelona with our hostel roommates ^
                                                 Milan's Duomo ^
                                                 Panzorotto in Milan ^
                                            Gelato in Florence ^

                                                          Barbie doll gelato cones ^
                                            Standing in front of the carousel in Florence on a rainy day^

My cousin Lauren came to visit me!!! It was amazing to see her! We spent the first two days catching up and I gave her a tour all around Florence. Then, we were off to Barcelona, Spain! Our hostel was sooo cute and the staff were so friendly. We stayed in a room with 6 other people. In Barcelona we saw the beach, took a bus tour, and a boat tour. The weather was really nice in the day but at night it was pretty chilly. Unfortunately, both of us did not enjoy the food. All we could find was Paella (Which is rice and sea food). But both don't like seafood. And the other food were Tapas(Which are appetizers). They grossed us out though because they are all just sitting at the bar for who knows how long and they pretty much all had ham in them. It was so funny because the Spanish really like their ham. They even had ham flavored chips! Milan was cool. We stayed at a hotel and it was just us 2 in the room. The owner was so impressed that we were from San Francisco! He was so cute. We shopped pretty much our entire time in Milan. Our feet hurt pretty bad after all that walking. We ate the most delicious bread, tomato sauce, and cheese thing. It was fried and it was soooo good. It was called a Panzorotto. It looked really small but it filled us up! We were happy to come back to Florence to eat some good food. Lauren ate pizza almost everyday!! I introduced her to Grom (My favorite gelato place). I discovered my new favorite kind-- Egg Nogg and Vanilla! They taste amazing together.  I was really sad to see her leave, but I am so glad that we had such a great time together. I think we laughed the entire week :)