Fuckin' Fish Puuuub. Need I say more?
Well probably because if you haven't been here you don't know...there is this pub down the street that has young people roaming the streets at night handing out fliers, practically attacking you to go there. They say they have free champagne one night, free shots for ladies, etc...but then you go, and either no one is there and it was a desperate attempt, or it's so crowded with drunk stupid American girls that you have to turn around and just keep on walking. But regardless, you always end up checking out the flippin Fish Pub. We got sucked in tonight and it was the latter story...hence why we came home within the hour.
Ahhh so in any case I am back to finish my story! Exciting I know. Please contain your excitement.
Alrighty so last Thursday...ahh yes, the night we learned that we can get a crate full of 12 red wines for 20 euro. Needless to say my roomie Lauren and I are winos and so we split a couple bottles before we all went out to try out a local place everyone had been talking about. Now granted most of the people studying here, I don't know how they do it but they literally go out EVERY NIGHT. I would be broke already. So they know alllll the hot spots. We travel on the weekends and usually just end up going out on Thursday/Friday/Saturday, you know, pretty standard. No, we're way behind the curve. So we go to this place called the Red Garter and it actually was pretty fun, live band, upstairs area to sit down, and a dance floor and solid sized bar. Not as many creepy Italian men, more normal ones so it was all good. Didn't make the best decisions that night so I'm just gonna end it there (roomies, I still am in awe as to what we found out tonight) but I love that we can just go out with no plans and walk down the street and find a new place to go! It just keeps it all new and exciting.
Friday my roomie Lauren and I decided to hop on a train when we woke up and spend the day down in Siena! It's a city about an hour southeast within Tuscany and is famous of course for its wine and a certain type of pasta. It was a pretty fun day, we hit most of the major sites and ate the local food of course! The Duomo there is the largest gothic midieval structure in all of Europe! It is massive and truly a sight to behold. It is entirely different from the Duomo here, all of the angles, gargoyles, images, and well everything. Siena was just an interesting place because of its structure. The roads were uphill then downhill, then up, then down, etc. It is right into the side of these rolling hills with intense architectural pieces popping up every so often. Good day trip destination.
Saturday night: FIORENTINAAAAAA!!! VAFFANCULO LAZIO! Haha that's what we were chanting all night at the Fiorentina (Florence) vs Lazio soccer game! God these fans put American football fans to SHAME. We were in the crazy section. Literally the lady at the ticket booth called it that, and we were all for it. Why not experience a real soccer game the way it should be in Italy right? Well first off I don't think I've ever felt more testosterone in my life. SO MANY MEN JACKED UP ON BEER AND AGGRESSION. It was a lot of fun to watch people go crazy for the game but I definitely felt like we stood out more than usual. These people all have organized chants as well, and they did them for the entire game it felt like. Vaffanculo is fuck off or fuck you by the way so they are pretty explicit as well. There was a section with people setting off flares so it looked like there was a fire in the stands, and a stink bomb that let off purple smoke because Fiorentina's colors are purple, red and white. What an experience.
If I've learned anything from living here for the past three weeks it's that the Italians are a very proud people, and they love everything about their country and about themselves and their way of life. And they do have a point, they have a lot of things to be proud of...well this sentimental feeling is intensified and amplified by thousands of chanting men who bleed purple for their team. There is no messing with the Fiorentina fans. We researched them a bit and apparently they are the only fans in history to be banned from their own stadium for how outrageous they are. Not a joke.
Anywho, Sunday, Cinque Terre. Now this place was talked up to us big time as one of the best and most memorable places to visit in Italy. I was pumped for this day trip. Cinque Terre in Italian means 5 lands, and in northwestern Italy along the coastline there are 5 towns that are connected by this windy insane hike (also by train). The plan was to hike through all the towns and then hangout at the beach at the last one. Yeahhh never made it there.
That hike was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was steep like crazy, rocky and extremely slippery because it had rained the day and night before we went. Therefore, it was FULL of mud so you could potentially just go flying off the side of a cliff at any moment. It was insanely beautiful and worth the hike, but during, I wanted to die. I think for me it was the humidity that put me over the top. I still have so much trouble with that. California is humid enough for me to handle, this humidity in the forest hillsides next to the beach, after it rained? Yeah probably 90% humidity. In any case it was an adventure getting everyone to the fourth town, Vernazzo, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. But in the end we all got to sunbathe on the rocks and beach of this small town and eat some authentic, if overpriced, local dishes!
Everyday is an adventure so far in every sense of the word. I learn and try to absorb as much as possible about the Italian culture, language, and atmosphere. And it is only the beginning...three weeks down. Three months to go!
This weekend: Oktoberfest. Biggest festival in the world. Please wish me and my liver good luck with this one. I am not a beer person. And we're camping. Please Munich don't let me die.
Ciao for now,
Jessica
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Italian Men, Traveling, Class, and I'm Back in Touch
First off, apologies, mi dispiace ragazzi!
I have been farrrr too out of touch this past week, but it can be really hard between traveling all the time, class, homework, and going out. I am not complaining by any means, but I have a lot to recap so far!!
Alright so in relation to my latest post about my wine class, yes it is still amazing, and yes I had it tonight, 7 glasses of wine and 4 pages of notes down (red, white, champagne, and red sparkling wine)! Fantastico! Donato had some memorable quotes tonight too, my favorites include:
(As he sticks his entire nose into his glass) - "Alcohol is a big punch in the nose!"
"I'm very fond of smelly wine"
(We are all chatting because we're quite tipsy and to quiet us he says...) "You guyyyys, whistle whistle whistle!!"
Hahaha anyway I'm rambling, let me recap.
Last Thursday the fun really started. There is only one American food place in Firenze and it is right across from our school (rightfully so), and the owner is now our good friend, Adriano (we call him A-di). He is a club promoter in the city and knows alllll kinds of famous people and has great hookups wherever he goes, so last Thursday we decided to go out with him for a nice dinner. So that night three of my roomies, and two other girls met him and his friend Francesco for dinner at one of the nicest places in town, and got AMAZING deals on food. Seven appetizers, two bottles of red and white wine, pasta, and dessert, it was wonderful and the owner of the restaurant put us in a private room. We were there for 2 1/2 hours.
That night was great, went to a few bars after that and they had more hookups there, but the most fun of the night was me trying oh so hard to have a conversation with Francesco, his Italian buddy who is a DJ around here. He speaks ZERO English, and even with my 3 semesters of Italian, I don't know shit. Speaking is so difficult, so basically we were miming and speaking Italish (Italian/English mix) all night. He was a nice guy and I loved the opportunity to speak Italian in a real scenario!! He also saved me from a few awkward moments when creepy Italians tried to talk to me, thank god. Creepy Italian men are truly the name of the game, such a bummer.
That night led into the first legit travel weekend I had. LdM hosts travel opportunities every weekend and so that weekend we went to hike in the Italian Alps, visit Garda Lake, and Verona! At 4am on Saturday morning we were on the most crowded bus of my life, riding into the Alps! Majestic mountains and valleys like you've never seen in your life. Green valleys full of vineyards and apple orchards, and adorable, quaint towns on the hillsides. It was quite the sight, watching the sunrise on these mountains, listening to "Rock Your Soul" by Elisa. Perfection. We arrived in this small ski resort town on the foot of the mountains, met our Italian guide Marco, and set off on our 8 mile, 6 hour walking hike. Thank goodness it was walking, there were over 30 of us and the path was rocky and muddy to say the least, but it offered some of the most fantastic views. Even the best camera doesn't do it justice. And we past at least 5 waterfalls in the process. There are just these hidden gems among the mountainsides, massive falls with crevices you can sneak into. The first was the largest and we were able to fit all of us underneath the spray!
What can I say, it's the flipping Alps. THE ALPS. They're the best mountain range for a reason, these European's know their winter sports for a REASON.
But after that we parked it in a place called Trento, which is the capital of the northern region, Trentino in northern Italy. The next morning we spent in Garda Lake, my future retirement home, in all seriousness. We went to the most southern point of the lake, to the very edge of this penninsula to a city called Sirmione. Apparently it was famous in the ancient days because all of the Romans would have homes here. There is only one road to get to the heart of the city and you have to go through the gates of this GIANT castle to do so. Yes we went up into the castle of course, had a legit moat and everything! The water and the beaches were light blue and surrounding the whole lake were the Alps of course. BELLISIMA. Everyone remember the name Sirmione because it should be a spot to stop on any future European honeymoons...a secret hideaway of a town.
Next stop was none other but the city of love, Verona. The home of Romeo and Juliet according to Shakespeare. We did not spend enough time in this city because it was really a beautiful place. There was a fair going on when we got there so the streets were packed with people and performers. Near the center is the Arena where operas and concerts are still held today, even though the architecture is partly from the Roman era, as is most of the city! You can definitely decipher which are the ancient stones too, they just reek with wisdom...if that's possible to say.
And Juliet's house...ohh what to say. Well first off, no there is NO place like in the movie Letters to Juliet, no wall to stick letters. I don't know how they filmed that because there is actually a shop there and a wall of plaques describing things about Romeo and Juliet's story. Definitely a bummer to find out. But instead there was the wall of lovers...a huge tunnel filled with signatures and expressions of love written on the walls! Signed my name, there for the rest of forever. Done and done. Saw the balcony, envisioned Romeo, and that was that, ahhh AMORE!
That was travel weekend numero uno, this past weekend was more of an adventure of our own making...
And I will get to that soon enough...we are going to grab a drink but until next time,
Ciao for now,
Jessica
I have been farrrr too out of touch this past week, but it can be really hard between traveling all the time, class, homework, and going out. I am not complaining by any means, but I have a lot to recap so far!!
Alright so in relation to my latest post about my wine class, yes it is still amazing, and yes I had it tonight, 7 glasses of wine and 4 pages of notes down (red, white, champagne, and red sparkling wine)! Fantastico! Donato had some memorable quotes tonight too, my favorites include:
(As he sticks his entire nose into his glass) - "Alcohol is a big punch in the nose!"
"I'm very fond of smelly wine"
(We are all chatting because we're quite tipsy and to quiet us he says...) "You guyyyys, whistle whistle whistle!!"
Hahaha anyway I'm rambling, let me recap.
Last Thursday the fun really started. There is only one American food place in Firenze and it is right across from our school (rightfully so), and the owner is now our good friend, Adriano (we call him A-di). He is a club promoter in the city and knows alllll kinds of famous people and has great hookups wherever he goes, so last Thursday we decided to go out with him for a nice dinner. So that night three of my roomies, and two other girls met him and his friend Francesco for dinner at one of the nicest places in town, and got AMAZING deals on food. Seven appetizers, two bottles of red and white wine, pasta, and dessert, it was wonderful and the owner of the restaurant put us in a private room. We were there for 2 1/2 hours.
That night was great, went to a few bars after that and they had more hookups there, but the most fun of the night was me trying oh so hard to have a conversation with Francesco, his Italian buddy who is a DJ around here. He speaks ZERO English, and even with my 3 semesters of Italian, I don't know shit. Speaking is so difficult, so basically we were miming and speaking Italish (Italian/English mix) all night. He was a nice guy and I loved the opportunity to speak Italian in a real scenario!! He also saved me from a few awkward moments when creepy Italians tried to talk to me, thank god. Creepy Italian men are truly the name of the game, such a bummer.
That night led into the first legit travel weekend I had. LdM hosts travel opportunities every weekend and so that weekend we went to hike in the Italian Alps, visit Garda Lake, and Verona! At 4am on Saturday morning we were on the most crowded bus of my life, riding into the Alps! Majestic mountains and valleys like you've never seen in your life. Green valleys full of vineyards and apple orchards, and adorable, quaint towns on the hillsides. It was quite the sight, watching the sunrise on these mountains, listening to "Rock Your Soul" by Elisa. Perfection. We arrived in this small ski resort town on the foot of the mountains, met our Italian guide Marco, and set off on our 8 mile, 6 hour walking hike. Thank goodness it was walking, there were over 30 of us and the path was rocky and muddy to say the least, but it offered some of the most fantastic views. Even the best camera doesn't do it justice. And we past at least 5 waterfalls in the process. There are just these hidden gems among the mountainsides, massive falls with crevices you can sneak into. The first was the largest and we were able to fit all of us underneath the spray!
What can I say, it's the flipping Alps. THE ALPS. They're the best mountain range for a reason, these European's know their winter sports for a REASON.
But after that we parked it in a place called Trento, which is the capital of the northern region, Trentino in northern Italy. The next morning we spent in Garda Lake, my future retirement home, in all seriousness. We went to the most southern point of the lake, to the very edge of this penninsula to a city called Sirmione. Apparently it was famous in the ancient days because all of the Romans would have homes here. There is only one road to get to the heart of the city and you have to go through the gates of this GIANT castle to do so. Yes we went up into the castle of course, had a legit moat and everything! The water and the beaches were light blue and surrounding the whole lake were the Alps of course. BELLISIMA. Everyone remember the name Sirmione because it should be a spot to stop on any future European honeymoons...a secret hideaway of a town.
Next stop was none other but the city of love, Verona. The home of Romeo and Juliet according to Shakespeare. We did not spend enough time in this city because it was really a beautiful place. There was a fair going on when we got there so the streets were packed with people and performers. Near the center is the Arena where operas and concerts are still held today, even though the architecture is partly from the Roman era, as is most of the city! You can definitely decipher which are the ancient stones too, they just reek with wisdom...if that's possible to say.
And Juliet's house...ohh what to say. Well first off, no there is NO place like in the movie Letters to Juliet, no wall to stick letters. I don't know how they filmed that because there is actually a shop there and a wall of plaques describing things about Romeo and Juliet's story. Definitely a bummer to find out. But instead there was the wall of lovers...a huge tunnel filled with signatures and expressions of love written on the walls! Signed my name, there for the rest of forever. Done and done. Saw the balcony, envisioned Romeo, and that was that, ahhh AMORE!
That was travel weekend numero uno, this past weekend was more of an adventure of our own making...
And I will get to that soon enough...we are going to grab a drink but until next time,
Ciao for now,
Jessica
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
I Love Donuts...
I woke up this lovely Italian Wednesday morning to the smell of monstrously strong espresso and to the sound of an explosion in the sky, it randomly started pounding rain...for all of five seconds. Ahh how that reminded me of home, the Arizona monsoons that come and go in bursts. In any case, I woke up to my roommate Lauren laughingly telling me that I was making strange noises in my sleep and rolling around, definitely not my M.O...I usually stay in the same spot all night, but she says I must've had some good dreams last night...and she knows why.
So do I. And I'm betting it's Donuts.
Let me explain before you jump to conclusions and just label me a Krispy Kreme fanatic and a fatty...don't get me wrong that's all fine and good, but the Donuts I speak of is on a whole other level...
Last night my roommate and I had our night class which was Wine and Culture: Wines of Italy aka a wine tasting class, sounds amazing right? The answer of course is YES, beyond fantastic. Two and a half hours of pure love.
My story begins: The room we were in had two long tables with wine glasses and saltine crackers set in front of each chair. As we all sat down, introduced ourselves, and talked about getting wonderfully smashed in class, our professor stood with his back to us in the door frame chatting with some other guys. Now this was quite the nice view because immediately it was evident that our professor A) had a nice ass and is built, B) is incredibly tan and C) is wearing a bathing suit and a beanie so obviously he is very chill. The only debate that was going around the tables at that point was whether he was going to be hot, we just had to wait for him to turn around. This was openly debated of course, I mean Lorenzo de' Medici is a great University here and all, but the women to male ratio is about 20:1 so seeing an attractive young male would definitely make the class a bit more entertaining. And at first when he did turn, nothing earthshattering happened, he was alright, but the one hilarious feature on his tan italian face was the soul patch, yes my professor was fully rocking that.
In broken Italian/English he introduced himself as Donato, which sounds like the American donuts, so we can call him that if we want because he thought it was funny. So professor Donuts is already cracking us up with his stories of getting wasted at wine festivals, with his intensely expressive features, and the way he searched for English words. I thought it was a riot.
We ended up taking about four pages of notes, and he jumped right into lecturing about the fermentation process, different types of grapes, how wines are rated and labeled in Italy, and the regions a few good wines come from. The best part of course as he rambled on, in mid-sentence he would randomly exclaim that he was bored and would disappear out of the room, only to reappear with a bottle of wine, bust it open and send it around the room for us to drink and share. This happened about 4 times. The first time was the best because he walked back in telling us that it was his birthday so he had some special, sparkling wine that he was going to drink tonight but decided to share with us, so immediately we toasted, "Cin Cin!" (Cheers!), to Donuts' birthday. He probably was all of 31.
In any case, I learned already more in that class than any of my other ones, and it was by far the most entertaining. He showed us how to smell the wine, swirl it and decipher the alcohol percentage by watching the "legs" or streaks of wine fall down the sides of the glass after swirling, and how to make sure each taste bud on our tongue absorbs all of the wino flavor!
Basically I was inspired, I love Italy so much already, I know for a fact that I love the wine industry and the subtleties of it, I know that if all else fails in life I have a for sure fallback. I will move to Italy and start a vineyard up or a wine company, hell maybe I should just do that in California. I was enthralled. It didn't help that I became endeared to my professor more and more as the class went on, so by the end he became a bonafide italian hottie in my eyes.
What can I say, I love Donuts, and I love wine.
The kicker to all of this was of course that he invited us to befriend him on facebook, and of course Lauren and I check him out after dinner last night, and in his outrageously inappropriate profile pic my professor is walking out of the ocean in a speedo, baywatch style. HILARIOUS. I don't know why in the world he would tell us to befriend him if he knew we would see that but ohhh well!
Well the sun has come out again and I have my first cooking class (taught in Italian, eeeek!) in a few hours. I'm off to make some more espresso with Beatrice but more to come...
Ciao for now,
Jessica
So do I. And I'm betting it's Donuts.
Let me explain before you jump to conclusions and just label me a Krispy Kreme fanatic and a fatty...don't get me wrong that's all fine and good, but the Donuts I speak of is on a whole other level...
Last night my roommate and I had our night class which was Wine and Culture: Wines of Italy aka a wine tasting class, sounds amazing right? The answer of course is YES, beyond fantastic. Two and a half hours of pure love.
My story begins: The room we were in had two long tables with wine glasses and saltine crackers set in front of each chair. As we all sat down, introduced ourselves, and talked about getting wonderfully smashed in class, our professor stood with his back to us in the door frame chatting with some other guys. Now this was quite the nice view because immediately it was evident that our professor A) had a nice ass and is built, B) is incredibly tan and C) is wearing a bathing suit and a beanie so obviously he is very chill. The only debate that was going around the tables at that point was whether he was going to be hot, we just had to wait for him to turn around. This was openly debated of course, I mean Lorenzo de' Medici is a great University here and all, but the women to male ratio is about 20:1 so seeing an attractive young male would definitely make the class a bit more entertaining. And at first when he did turn, nothing earthshattering happened, he was alright, but the one hilarious feature on his tan italian face was the soul patch, yes my professor was fully rocking that.
In broken Italian/English he introduced himself as Donato, which sounds like the American donuts, so we can call him that if we want because he thought it was funny. So professor Donuts is already cracking us up with his stories of getting wasted at wine festivals, with his intensely expressive features, and the way he searched for English words. I thought it was a riot.
We ended up taking about four pages of notes, and he jumped right into lecturing about the fermentation process, different types of grapes, how wines are rated and labeled in Italy, and the regions a few good wines come from. The best part of course as he rambled on, in mid-sentence he would randomly exclaim that he was bored and would disappear out of the room, only to reappear with a bottle of wine, bust it open and send it around the room for us to drink and share. This happened about 4 times. The first time was the best because he walked back in telling us that it was his birthday so he had some special, sparkling wine that he was going to drink tonight but decided to share with us, so immediately we toasted, "Cin Cin!" (Cheers!), to Donuts' birthday. He probably was all of 31.
In any case, I learned already more in that class than any of my other ones, and it was by far the most entertaining. He showed us how to smell the wine, swirl it and decipher the alcohol percentage by watching the "legs" or streaks of wine fall down the sides of the glass after swirling, and how to make sure each taste bud on our tongue absorbs all of the wino flavor!
Basically I was inspired, I love Italy so much already, I know for a fact that I love the wine industry and the subtleties of it, I know that if all else fails in life I have a for sure fallback. I will move to Italy and start a vineyard up or a wine company, hell maybe I should just do that in California. I was enthralled. It didn't help that I became endeared to my professor more and more as the class went on, so by the end he became a bonafide italian hottie in my eyes.
What can I say, I love Donuts, and I love wine.
The kicker to all of this was of course that he invited us to befriend him on facebook, and of course Lauren and I check him out after dinner last night, and in his outrageously inappropriate profile pic my professor is walking out of the ocean in a speedo, baywatch style. HILARIOUS. I don't know why in the world he would tell us to befriend him if he knew we would see that but ohhh well!
Well the sun has come out again and I have my first cooking class (taught in Italian, eeeek!) in a few hours. I'm off to make some more espresso with Beatrice but more to come...
Ciao for now,
Jessica
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Italian Fun Facts
In the past 4 1/2 days I've already learned a little about the Italian culture and lifestyle. Everyone tells us that we must watch the local men and women and do as they do, gawking at the sights all the time like a tourist just will not do...Well let me tell you, that's a hard one, because every freaking place we've traveled to is one for the books...but I'm getting off topic. Ah yes, fun facts, I have learned a lot, including:
I just got a bit distracted, my parents just called me and gave me some rough news. To all of you that are close with my family, my dog Bear was put to sleep yesterday. My mom didn't want to tell me but I'm glad to know he is no longer in pain and in a better place...but I'm just sad that I never got to say goodbye :(
Ciao for now,
Jessica
- the first thing you see when you land in Firenze is the giant ass IKEA building, seriously.
- everything I was told about the men is true (good and bad), my favorite so far has been the guy in the market who begged me for a high five (which of course I obliged, it's a high five for goodness sakes) and he told me that I was his Jennifer Aniston, needless to say I kept walking
- none of the buildings have A/C so every window is open
- mosquitoes will be the death of you, if the humidity doesn't get you first
- there are no dryers anywhere so everyone hangs up their clothes, and no dishwashers
- only the Italian women can wear heels in these streets because otherwise the cobblestones will OWN you
- Italian drivers are INSANE. There is NO such thing as a right of way for a pedestrian. NONE, they do not stop.
- at restaurants they serve you in courses most of the time, and always bring the salad after the first course
- they eat waffles with honey with their gelato!
- being blonde gives every Italian man with a penis the right to stare, incessantly apparently
- there is no such thing as American coffee (Jess it is sad), but their coffee is actually straight up espresso, which is fantastic with just a bit of sugar!
- overnight guests are OUTLAWED in Italy, which is frankly an overreaction with the immigration nonsense...
- every supermarket is owned and operated by Asians, unexpected for sure
I just got a bit distracted, my parents just called me and gave me some rough news. To all of you that are close with my family, my dog Bear was put to sleep yesterday. My mom didn't want to tell me but I'm glad to know he is no longer in pain and in a better place...but I'm just sad that I never got to say goodbye :(
Ciao for now,
Jessica
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Firenze: It's On
Finally in Firenze! The flights were an adventure that truly started off this semester right.
First leg had me staying in LA for the night , which was wonderful because I was able to stay with my mom and say goodbye, as well as see Leif, who drove up to see me after work.
I met two roomies and another Chapman girl in LA and we flew all the way together. The fun leg came on the Chicago to Zurich one...never have I been more cramped in my life, no sleep there. Then Zurich had us leave the city (which is full of cottages and sloping green luscious hills) and fly straight over the Alps! Full of snow and higher than any mountain I've ever seen they extended into the sky with lakes and small villages scattered among them.
The Florence airport was surprisingly easy to get out of, no customs or visa/passport check which was strange but fine by me! The whole flight at that point was filled with American and international students so meeting people became the name of the game. I felt like I was thrown straight back into orientation week at Chapman. In a wonderful way of course because everyone has been so nice and fun so far! And from all over as well, NY, NJ, OH, OR, CA, Holland, Paris, MA, NE...just everywhere, with different accents, varying backgrounds and stories, but with all a joint fascination and love for Italy.
Hard not to though truly, this place is like a dream...or a movie set. The buildings hardly seem real, I feel like I'm continuously coming to the end of the street in California Adventure when I realize that I would walk into a wall because the buildings seem fake!
Narrow streets, cobblestone roads, tall buildings, windows open everywhere, clothes and linens hanging on lines and people poking their heads out to observe the street life. Everyday there are street vendors for fresh food, leather, and miscellanious goods in the local marketplaces.
My apartment is old but beautiful, no A/C so we keep our windows open all the time for fresh air, the locks and appliances are old and antique in a good way, they still work fine so it's all good. No dryer or dishwasher...or microwave so things may get interesting in that sense but everything else is quaint and fantastico! Molto fantastico!
But already I've had so much wine and pasta I may never want to come back to the states, or at least eat Italian food there. The food is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Literally. The freshness of the ingredients just oozes out flavor and the wine is always served with it and compliments the taste just so...and international students get rockin deals for food and drinks nearly everywhere!
Well the nine hour time difference is still getting to me, jet lag is NO joke. Tomorrow is the Duomo, the food market, planning more trips, maybe renting bikes to explore and going out to the bars and disco! Not American disco however, but clubs are discos here. That is how amazing Italy is.
Ciao for now,
Jessica
First leg had me staying in LA for the night , which was wonderful because I was able to stay with my mom and say goodbye, as well as see Leif, who drove up to see me after work.
I met two roomies and another Chapman girl in LA and we flew all the way together. The fun leg came on the Chicago to Zurich one...never have I been more cramped in my life, no sleep there. Then Zurich had us leave the city (which is full of cottages and sloping green luscious hills) and fly straight over the Alps! Full of snow and higher than any mountain I've ever seen they extended into the sky with lakes and small villages scattered among them.
The Florence airport was surprisingly easy to get out of, no customs or visa/passport check which was strange but fine by me! The whole flight at that point was filled with American and international students so meeting people became the name of the game. I felt like I was thrown straight back into orientation week at Chapman. In a wonderful way of course because everyone has been so nice and fun so far! And from all over as well, NY, NJ, OH, OR, CA, Holland, Paris, MA, NE...just everywhere, with different accents, varying backgrounds and stories, but with all a joint fascination and love for Italy.
Hard not to though truly, this place is like a dream...or a movie set. The buildings hardly seem real, I feel like I'm continuously coming to the end of the street in California Adventure when I realize that I would walk into a wall because the buildings seem fake!
Narrow streets, cobblestone roads, tall buildings, windows open everywhere, clothes and linens hanging on lines and people poking their heads out to observe the street life. Everyday there are street vendors for fresh food, leather, and miscellanious goods in the local marketplaces.
My apartment is old but beautiful, no A/C so we keep our windows open all the time for fresh air, the locks and appliances are old and antique in a good way, they still work fine so it's all good. No dryer or dishwasher...or microwave so things may get interesting in that sense but everything else is quaint and fantastico! Molto fantastico!
But already I've had so much wine and pasta I may never want to come back to the states, or at least eat Italian food there. The food is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Literally. The freshness of the ingredients just oozes out flavor and the wine is always served with it and compliments the taste just so...and international students get rockin deals for food and drinks nearly everywhere!
Well the nine hour time difference is still getting to me, jet lag is NO joke. Tomorrow is the Duomo, the food market, planning more trips, maybe renting bikes to explore and going out to the bars and disco! Not American disco however, but clubs are discos here. That is how amazing Italy is.
Ciao for now,
Jessica
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