Week 16: My Final Week in Florence

So I can't believe my time in Florence has come to an end. I'm sitting on my bed at home, and Florence seems so far away. Though I wanted this post to be a really thoughtful one, I'm still pretty jet lagged and am trying to get everything written down before I go to sleep.

After Cinque Terre, it was back to the reality of finals week. Monday I finally had to finish Siddhartha and write my paper for World Religions, as well as make a study guide for the exam the next day. I got the paper done around dinner time, and was going to start my study guide when Ashley invited me to eat with her, Gerald, and Fani at Pizza Man, a restaurant that is a block away that is supposed to have really good pizza. I was very curious to check it out, so I ended up going. The food was actually really good... we even got little appetizers and aperitifs before our meal, it was nice. After dinner, they ended up hanging out in our apartment for a little while because Gerald had bought wine, so I ended up procrastinating my study guide for a little while longer before getting to it.

I had to wake up early on Tuesday to study some more before my World Religions exam. It ended up being pretty easy, since I knew exactly what would be on it. That night, I studied for Art History as much as I could, and I even made a study guide for Wine Appreciation and tried to study that. It was really hard for me to get myself to concentrate, because at this point, I was already wanting to be done with it all. Wine ended up being a bit more difficult than I thought it would be, but I think I did well on the blind taste testing part (the wine ended up being Brunello). After class, I had some time before Art History, so since it was really nice out, I sat at the Santa Croce and studied some more. That exam ended up being easier than I thought, and when it was over, I felt more relieved. However, I was not yet done- I still had a Cooking exam and Italian.

Leaving our mark at Lion's Den

Thursday, I was nervous for the cooking exam, and the test itself wasn't so easy, but the cooking part wasn't so terrible. She had us cook the first thing we ever made in the class: Crespelles alla Fiorentina (crepes with spinach and ricotta). I was hoping we'd make this again because I really enjoyed it. As soon as we were done with our exams, we started the cooking. I ended up helping out more than I thought, but mostly there wasn't much for all of us to do at once. The crepe ended up going well, needed some more seasoning we were told, but I think that it was pretty good. Afterwards, I picked  up a few last minute gifts at the San Lorenzo market before going back to the apartment to nap and quickly review Italian. The Italian exam was not bad at all, and then 45 mins later, I was done! Later, Katie and I went to Pino's for one last delicious panino, since Ashley's family had arrived that night.

Sunset over Piazzale Michelangelo

That night, Ashley, Gerald, Fani and I went to Eby's for one last shot (and Gerald and Fani's first), and then we went to Lion's Den and wrote on the wall, and then went to Twice. The next day was packing day, and before getting to that, Ashley and I went to a different sandwich place and got another panino which was also delicious. We wanted to go to Pino's but the line was sooo long full of students wanting the same exact thing before they left Italy. Afterwards, I had to print out my itinerary and pick up an envelope and stamp to send back my sim card in my Italian cell phone. After napping for a little, I finally packed up everything. The three of us plus Ashley's brother then went up to Piazzale Michelangelo once more (that was my 6th time) and we drank wine and watched the sun set. We ended up going to Pizzaiolo for dinner, the same place we went on our first night after moving in, and it brought back so many memories. Afterwards, Katie and I went to touch the boars nose near the H&M for "good luck" and then I took a nap before going out once more with Ash, Gerald, and Fani to Kikuya for one more Dragoon. It was pretty bittersweet that whole night. I was reminiscing but also thinking about getting home already.

The boar and me.

I had to wake up extremely early Saturday morning (6 am) for a 7:00 shuttle to the airport. The check-in line was so long, but I finally made it through. Meghan was on my flight which was nice, and I got to Paris around 12:30. I only had an hour before my next flight so I was slightly worried, but I made it. The plane was double decker, which was pretty strange to me, and then once on that plane I felt a lot better. I ended up watching The Artist, and The Prestige which I had wanted to see on the way to Paris and they were both amazing. I also re-watched Crazy, Stupid, Love since I didn't want to sleep. Once I landed, I realized one of my bags (with most of my clothes) hadn't made it on the flight, so after waiting a while, I had to get it sent to me and claim it as lost. Luckily for me, it came tonight!

all my bags!

 So that's my story, didn't think I'd actually finish this blog. I wanted to write more of a reflection for my last entry, but I'm just so tired and can't really think straight. Tomorrow I'm going up to Muhlenberg for Senior Week and I'm excited and nervous to see everyone. Anyway, that is all for now, I will try to add one more entry when I get back next week.. but theres a possibility I wont. Ciao!!!

Week 15 & Cinque Terre

This past week was my last week of classes! However, I had a lot of work to do... a paper due Thursday, and a presentation on Wednesday that I hadn't started to think about. Monday night though was Notte Bianca, a night where most stores and restaurants and clubs are open till about 6 am! We didn't even have class the next day because it was Labor Day. So Fani and Gerald came over for a bit, and then we headed to the one euro shot bar before going to a piazza past the Ponte Vecchio to listen to a band that was performing. I didn't realize, but we missed seeing hot lanterns fly over the Ponte Vecchio, which was unfortunate. Afterwards, we went to Oibo since there were a lot of people inside, and the music was good. We then went into Kikuya where the guys ended up buying Dragoon. Afterwards, I went to hang out by the Ponte Vecchio for a little while to try to stay up till the end of Notte Bianca, but it started raining, and everything seemed sort of over anyway. It was crazy how much trash was on the streets- bottles and cups and glasses were all on the floor since there were a tonnnn of people out that night.

The next morning I really didn't do anything till 4 pm, when I finally got myself to make my Wine Appreciation presentation on Ashley's powerpoint. It ended up being exactly 5 minutes, which was great  because I hadn't really practiced. After that and Art History on Wednesday, I went to the library to research the key elements of the Mediterranean diet for my cooking paper due the next day. I procrastinated the actual paper for way too long, but I got it done all the same.

Thursday was also my Italian oral presentation, and that was pretty rough. I knew what I was going to say, but I kind of got nervous and it just didn't go as smoothly. Afterwards, FUA had scheduled a farewell dinner that Katie and I went to with the other girls. Ashley had an interview for an internship so she had to miss it. The restaurant was outdoors and very cute. It was called Le Carceri, and the food was pretty good... we had pizza as an appitizer and then pasta, and then a salad and chicken dish. That night, I ended up not going out, but Ashley and I caught up on New Girl, Modern Family, and Glee. We were very productive.

Friday morning, I woke up early to browse around the stores for some things with Meghan, Melissa, and Molly. Afterwards, I went to Pino's and then met up with Ashley. We went a few bridges past the Ponte Vecchio to this area where we could walk down to the river and lay down and tan. It was pretty nice out and we stayed for an hour before deciding to head back. That night, Katie, Ashley and I went to Tijuana, and then later, Fani, Gerald, and their other friend came over and we went to Santo Spirito, which I had never been to before. We sat outside for not very long before heading back across the bridge to Twice. I wasn't really feeling Twice, so I didn't stay for very long.

Home cooked meal!

Saturday, I knew I had to get stuff done, but instead I went with Ashley for last minute shopping for gifts. We went to a jewelry store, a book store, and finally to the San Lorenzo market where I got a bunch of leather goods. We ended up buying dinner at Billa afterwards and had a yummy meal of hamburger meat, zucchini, and spinach gnocchi.

I really tried to start reading Siddhartha, because I had a paper coming up, and I only got a chapter in before I realized it was almost 2 and we had to be at the train station at 7:30 the next day for our last trip to Cinque Terre. I ended up having maybe 5 hours of sleep before we had to get up, and the three of us quickly packed a bag for the day and headed to the buses. The bus ride ended up being an hour and a half instead of 2 and a half hours like we thought it would be, which was nice. I read most of my book on the bus and I actually started getting into it.

Once at Cinque Terre, our group, which was pretty small, started off by going from Riomaggiore to the second town, Manarola, through Via dell'Amore, a really cute trail celebrating "love and life." Once at Manarola, we were told that the only way to get to the third town would be to hike a difficult trail, since the regular one was closed. We were all enthusiastic to hike it, even though it was a bit humid and our guide told us that we'd be walking up stairs/hill for at least a half hour of the hike. We started off and it was a bit torturous at first, but once we got to the highest point, it wasn't so bad. We ended up walking along a cliff with no railing, which was pretty cool, and slightly scary since I was trying to take pictures as I walked. The views were beautiful, and finally, after about 2 and a half hours, we were making our way downhill, which was actually a lot more difficult than climbing uphill, since I had to look down the entire time and couldn't look at the views. When we got to Manarola, we were taken to the train to get to the fourth town, Vernazza, which had mostly been destroyed by mudslides this past October. Although it was being reconstructed, our guide told us that there was a great restaurant where we should eat, and recommended anything with pesto and white wine, since that's what Cinque Terre is most famous for.

We took her up on her advice, and each ordered pesto pizza with white wine... just what we needed after that hike. After relaxing in the restaurant and drinking wine, we finally went to the 5th town, called Monterosso al Mare. Most of the other people in the group had already gone over there, and when we got there it was drizzling, but it soon stopped. We decided to walk along the beach and then decided to climb this giant rock to take better pictures. We hung out on the rock for about a half hour before we had to head back to the train station to go back to our bus. Although the sky was mostly overcast, it was still a fun day. I'm actually glad it wasn't sunny because it would have made it even harder to hike across the mountain. We ended up getting back to our apartment before 8, which was good, and I was actually productive in getting most of my Art History study guide done. I can't believe that it is already finals week already... so unreal!!!!

Amalfi Coast! (end of week 14)

Thursday, after eating Mr. Pizza, we all headed to the SMN Station to meet our tour group at 7:30. We ended up leaving closer to 8, and it was a 9 hour bus ride full of movies. We got to Seven hostel in Sorrento at around 2:30 and went straight to sleep since we had to get breakfast and be out of the hostel by 8 am!

Being pulled inside the Blue Grotto

So Friday morning, we headed down to Capri by ferry, where we had a two hour boat ride all along the island and saw many highlights, including the island's famous fire coral, a few different grottos (one in which a mysterious natural rock stands that resembles the Virgin Mary), and the "Love Tunnel" a natural rock tunnel where you're supposed to make a wish when going underneath it. Our last stop was at the Blue Grotto, which we paid extra to go into. The Blue Grotto is not always open because the entrance is so small that if the water is rough, it is impossible to get into without being hurt. Luckily for us, we came to Amalfi during the perfect weekend, and were able to experience the inside of the grotto. If you're unaware of what it looks like, the water is a brilliant blue color inside because of the sunlight that reflects it. We got into these small boats that held about 5 people, and the guy pulled us into the grotto holding onto a chain. Once inside, he and a few other boatmen started singing and it was just a very interesting experience. We only stayed inside there for about a few minutes, but it was still very cool to see.

Inside the Blue Grotto

View from the chairlift!

After our tour, we went up to Anacapri, which sits above Capri, and we got to try their famous limoncello and lots of chocolate. We then went to a restaurant for lunch that our tour group recommended, and although the food was good, it took foreverrr for me to get my meal. Although I really do like how Europeans take their time relaxing through their meals, when I'm on a trip and have lots of things I want to see, I don't really have time to appreciate eating late, especially when I'm also hungry. Can't help it, it's so American. Finally, after lunch, we took an amazing chairlift ride up to the top of Mount Solaro, where we saw beautiful views of Anacapri and the coastlines. It was absolutely breathtaking when we got to the top and I really enjoyed the chairlift ride up as well. We ended up chilling up there for a while, taking pictures, and just enjoying the sun. Eventually, Ashley and I decided we wanted to check out the beach back down at Capri before we had to head back to Sorrento, so we left the rest of the girls to do their shopping and found the beach and tanned for a little while at Grand Marina. For dinner, our tour group took us to this one place they said we should all go to; however, once we got there, there wasn't room for all of us, so we ended up going to this other restaurant called I Giardini Di Tasso. It was a little more expensive than the other restaurant, but it was much more beautiful. The restaurant used to be a monestary, and we were able to walk around the courtyard where orange and lemon trees grew. It wasn't so warm out at night, so we just strolled around it while we were waiting for our food. I ended up ordering Gnocchi Sorrentino (with tomato sauce and mozzerella) which was delicious... however, once again, our table ended up being the absolutely last ones served. However, we did get unlimited amounts of bread while we waited, and there was live music which was nice, and best of all, the tour guides felt bad for us and had the waiters give us free limoncello shots! Yum! We were all pretty tired from our limited sleep the night before, and didn't go to this beer garden place that we had the option of going to. Instead, we headed back to the hostel, where we found to our surprise, turned into an extremely loud bar till about 2 am! The noise didn't bother me so much, but it was just so loud and we could hear the music clearly from our rooms.

Positano

On Saturday, we left at 10:30 for the black sand beaches of Positano. The beach ended up being more rock than sand, which kind of hurt to walk on, but it was beautiful there! We tanned for a bit, and then decided to take a 10 euro private boat ride to cave swim and cliff jump. I was hesitant about the cliff jumping in the first place, but I went along for the ride anyway. When we got to the area, the cliff didn't look too high to me.. I think I was expecting it to be a ridiculous height, so I decided to go ahead and do it. I kept being indecisive about whether to jump from the higher or lower point, and finally decided to jump the higher one. Once I got up there, I got slightly nervous, but it was too late... the only way back down was to jump. I finally jumped thanks to the countdown of Katie and Meghan, and it was probably the scariest thing I've ever done in my life. The water was SO cold, that once I got up to the surface, I tried looking up to tell Katie and Meghan that I was fine, and found that I couldn't catch my breath to talk. After that, I didn't want to jump again, but a few of the other girls went a couple more times. Afterwards, we had the option to cave swim, but the water was so cold that I sat in the boat with Melissa and became the picture-taker for the others. When we got back to the main beach, we got paninis at Vini and Panini, one of the recommended sandwich shops. The rest of the day consisted of me relaxing and getting tan. That night, our hostel happened to be hosting a buffet dinner, so we ate at the hostel. We sat on the rooftop bar for a little while, but then Ashley and I decided to go to this club Africana that night, which is a club inside of a cave. I was really excited about going, but for some reason, when we got there, I felt really weird and tired and it wasn't as fun as I expected. The shuttle that took us back ended up coming later than I thought and we got home at 5 am! We had to wake up at 9 the next day, so I was annoyed at the idea of getting little sleep again.

Sorrento, on our first morning in Amalfi

Sunday, we packed our things and left the hostel at 10 for Pompeii. We went on an interesting tour that lasted about an hour, and then went to get lunch at Pompeii Pizza. However, once again, since everyone in our tour group went to this pizza place, we were the very very last to get served, and had to actually take our food to eat on the bus! The pizza happened to be really good though. On the way home we watched movies once again, and we got back home around 9ish, which was earlier than I had thought we'd get back. I wanted to be productive and do some work in advance for my finals, but that didn't happen at all. Overall though, I loved Amalfi.. it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to!

Week 14

Hey all! So once again, I'm a couple weeks behind.. oh well. Anyway, Monday morning I actually got myself out of the apartment. My friend Beth was visiting Florence with her friends in Sevilla, so I met them for a late lunch at Pino's (of course). They all loved it, and afterwards, we got gelato at Neri. I had some errands to do, so after catching up with Beth and getting to meet her friends, I let them go off to do more sight seeing. Ashley's 21st birthday was on Tuesday, so I went to the dollar store for some balloons and other decorations and candles. I also had bought her this glazed fruit tart/cake thing she's always wanted to try at Gelateria di Neri. Katie and I knew that her birthday would be a perfect time for her to actually try it. I got back to the apartment around 4:30, and had an hour to do nothing, so I decided to blow up most of the balloons and try to hide it under my bed. Ashley got back at 5:30, and ended up going out for the night with  just Gerald since I was finishing my homework. Once she left though, Katie and I decorated her bed by putting the balloons on it, and we made her cards. She got back after midnight, but we were ready with the cake and candles because we heard her coming up. She really enjoyed the surprise and the cake, which was good.

Tuesday night, Gerald, Margo, Meghan, Katie, and I went to Tijuana for Ashley's birthday dinner. It was very good, and filling as always. I had invited Beth to go out with us, and her and her friend ended up coming up to pregame, along with the other girls, Fani, and Gerald. First, we went to Salamanca where I had some tequila shots. After being there for a little while, we decided to leave since it was pretty crowded and we wanted to go to a club. Katie and the other girls ended up not going out, and Beth and her friend had to wake up really early to travel to Rome, so it ended up just being Ashley, Gerald, Fani, and me. We tried to get into Twice but they were being annoying and didn't let the guys in. We ended up just going to Babylon which was really fun. The next day we had no class, so I didn't really get out of bed till the afternoon, and I was barely productive at all. That night, at 9:30, we had a Muhlenberg dinner at Il Gatto E La Volpe. We ended up being seated closer to 10, but it was still worth it. We did a family style meal, so we got Chianti and white wine, and a huge antipasto plate as well as three pasta dishes which was really good and really filling.. along with the bread we got in the beginning. We also signed a Muhlenberg shirt at the end, which we wanted to place in Lion's Den... though I have no idea if anyone actually put it up there.

We were all very tired from our day of not doing anything, and so we didn't do anything after the dinner. On Thursday we had to pack for our weekend in the Amalfi Coast- I had seen that the weather was supposed to be in the high 70's and sunny for the weekend so we were all really excited about the trip. I'm going to post about the weekend in my next blog post, so read on!