exploring

Today, Devon and I went to the famous museum...the Uffizi!! I've never been a huge 'museum' person, but after having studied a few of the paintings in my art history class, I have a whole new appreciation for art. I really enjoyed looking at "the birth of venus" and "primavera", both of which I was familiar with before arriving in Italy. I was a little disappointed when I learned that the famous "David" is not in the Uffizi, but rather in l'Accademia. So sadly we didn't get to see the sculpture, but we'll go back soon enough. Palazzo issued us each a museum card which gives us free access to all of the museums, as well as a 'skip the line' pass. We spent about 3 solid hours in the museum and didn't even get through all of it!

A few more updates that I didn't mention in my previous post. We had our first appertivo experience! For those that don't know, appertivo is an Italian custom held at most restaurants where you go from 7-10 and pay x amount of euros and you get one cocktail and an assortment of unlimited appetizers. It was delicious, as well as a great way to taste different foods from the culture.

Additionally, we've been back to our restaurant [i'tarrochi...i finally remembered the name!] a ton of times and have continued to be showered with free stuff [desserts, champagne, wine, etc]. Sometime soon we'll ask the waiter his name and I'll probably propose, if Devon doesn't beat me to it.

food that i made for dinner one night!!

i'll make sure to post more photos in my upcoming blogs...i realize all of the text must get a little overwhelming at times. ciao, regazzis!!

adventures

Ciao!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday afternoon. I know I just recently posted an entry but I'm just dying to tell yall a bit about the adventures I've had over the past 24 hours. Last night, after our last orientation session, Devon and I started to wander around looking for a place to eat. After about an hour of unsuccessful wandering [don't get me wrong, there are TONS of restaurants...just none that seemed to fit the budget we were looking for] we headed to our go-to restaurant that is at the end of our street. We discovered it the second night we were in Florence and literally have been there 4 out of the past 7 nights. It is delicious and I am slightly obsessed [I never remember the name of it because it's in Italian but next time I'm writing it down!] Well anyways, Devon and I sat down and were greeted by a waiter. We asked a few questions about dishes and he nicely informed me that he would be more than happy to prepare any type of pasta with whatever type of sauce I wanted. So, we placed our order and decided to splurge with some wine. The food came and it was delicious. We finished the wine pretty quickly, as it was only 2 small glasses for each of us. We were almost done with our food when he stopped by and grabbed the wine bottle from our table. Neither of us really WANTED any more wine, so we were a bit surprised when he headed to the bar to refill it. We decided we'd just enjoy the wine and sit and stay for a while. He brings the wine over and, as he sets it down, goes 'this is on the house!' So Devon and I were pretty excited about that. We finished eating and he came back over and asked if we were interested in any dessert. Both of us were thoroughly stuffed so we graciously declined. After a few more exchanges, he finally convinced us to 'taste' something. Little did we know a 'taste' meant a WHOLE dessert. I felt horrible because I literally could only eat about 4 bites of a massive and beautiful tiramisu but I was on the verge of getting sick so I had to throw in the towel. After he cleared our plates, he brought out 2 champagne glasses of 'a palette cleansing drink' for each of us. Thirsty from my dessert, I took a huge swig of my pretty yellow drink without realizing it was literally 100% alcohol. I had to do my best not to spit it out but, needless to say, the rest of the drink was a struggle to finish. He came back and offered us some cappuccino and we declined profusely but told him we appreciated the offer. Anxious to see our meal total, we waited for him to bring the check...25 euros! He literally didn't even charge us for the 2 entrees that we ordered! It's not customary to leave a tip in Italy but we were so appreciative that we wrote him a note saying thank you and left a hearty tip.

Since we don't have classes on Fridays, Devon and I ventured into the city to check out the leather market at San Lorenzo and the Mercato Centrale. We spent about 45 minutes wandering around the food market and I was very pleased with my purchases: 2 chicken breasts for less than 5 euros [side note: we are both slightly in love with the butcher - he is gorgeous], 2 huge sweet bell peppers, 4 zucchinis, 1 head of broccoli and 1 onion all for 1.97 EUROS. I literally was in shock when he told me the price, as I know peppers themselves cost more than that in America. After we finished our food shopping, we headed to the leather market. We ended up buying gloves from one of the vendors who was actually American. After a long conversation about Florence and life in general, we each left with a pair of beautiful leather gloves that are lined with cashmere [and a new friend Chris, yay]! He told us about some good local spots to hang out at night and we ventured to one of them later in the evening. It was definitely a refreshing and much needed break from the popular 'euro' clubs that are scattered all over crowds. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be around Americans. But to be honest, I came to Italy to interact with Italians, not Americans.

Today, we woke up at 7 and headed to Piazza de Santa Maria Novella to catch a bus to Sienna for our day trip. Besides the fact that it was LITERALLY freezing [actually I think it was 31 when we left], we really enjoyed visiting the city. It is most famous for its Duomo - it doesn't stand as tall as the one here in Florence but it is legitimately the most breathtaking and unbelievable thing I have ever seen. We spent almost 2 hours inside just exploring every wall and room, all the while in complete awe of it's grandiosity and beauty. After the tour of the Duomo, we ate lunch at a local place and chowed down on great pizza and risotto. Thoroughly stuffed, we continued to explore the city until it was time to leave. On the way back to Florence, we stopped in the city of San Gimignano. It's another very little city tucked into the mountains that is lined with old stone buildings and quaint nooks and crannies that are practically untouched. There was an overlook at the tip of the city with an amazing view of the Tuscan countryside, which again reminded me of the beauty of the country I now call home.

When we got home, Devon and I started cooking up our food that we bought at the market on Friday. I was very proud of both of us [and especially myself] for not igniting the apartment building or burning the chicken/veggies to a crisp. In fact, we just finished our delicious meal and are now sipping on the wine we bought in San Gimignano just this afternoon. I still can't believe that I'm going to be here in this fabulous country for the next 4 months - I've already made so many good memories and literally can't wait for more to come. I'll post again soon but until then, miss you all!

Ciao:)

Rainy Wednesday...

Ciao Regazzis! 

So since i've officially had all of my classes, I finally have some updates! First of all, I know I complained a bit about the walk to school in my last post and I would like to retract my grievance. After talking to some of my classmates and staff at Palazzo [the name of my school], I realized that my apartment is the only apartment from our program on this side of the Arno [the river]. In fact, if my apartment wasn't on this side of the Arno, I'm not sure I would have even explored this far down at this point. While we're pretty far away from the Duomo and the other popular attractions, we're also tucked away in one of the most breathtaking areas of Florence. In my art history class today, we learned that my exact neighborhood houses some of the only remains from the original protective wall that was erected in the 12th century to protect the inner roman quarters and church. Pretty neat, huh? 

Anyways, my classes are all going really well! My psychology class sounds really cool. We've got some very interesting field trips and activities planned, including a trip to a mental asylum, a dinner date with local Italian students to 'interview' them, and various other places. Actually, on Monday of next week we’re going to the University of Florence to talk to some authentic Italian students…sounds good to me! My art of Florence class is going to be incredible. As I already mentioned, it’s a site-based class where we spend time traveling to different places [Duomo, The Uffizi, the Academia, etc] and studying the artists of the time. Let’s just say it will probably be my most challenging class; on the very first day, I took 4 pages of notes! Since I’ve never taken an art history class before, I’m sure I’m going to learn an ineffable amount of information. My Food and Culture class seems like it will be challenging but also fun. As of now, we’ve only got one scheduled cooking lesson with a professional chef, but one is more than none! We’re going to be studying how food influences society and how it has shaped history thus far. My teacher is German and extremely knowledgeable, so I’m looking forward to learning everything he has to teach! And finally, I’ve got Italian. My teacher is very nice and seems to be quite understanding. As of now, I really like the way she’s going about teaching the language. Instead of spending time learning grammar and syntax, she’s teaching us useful words and phrases that will allow us to communicate more effectively while here. For example, I learned how to count from 0-20, how to say ‘I’m American’ and how to ask someone if they speak English.  I still find myself struggling to speak in Italian instead of Hebrew, but I’m doing my best to really learn as much of the language while I’m in the country.

So in other news, Devon and I are going on a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano on Saturday! I’ve heard Siena is gorgeous, so I’m really looking forward to seeing the cities. Beyond that, we’re planning a trip Rome for the first weekend in February and we’ve recently figured out what we’re going to go on a UK getaway for Spring break! We’ve got 10 days to pack in as much stuff as possible so this is what we’re thinking: fly from Perugia to London [side note: Perugia is this gorgeous city in Italy and so we’ll take the train there and explore and then fly out in the afternoon]. Arrive in London on Friday March 4. Stay in London until Tuesday March 8^th and then fly to Dublin. Stay in Dublin until Thursday March 11^th and then fly to Edinburgh! Stay in Scotland until Saturday and then fly back to Florence that day. I’ve been doing research for the past few days and we’re just about ready to finalize plans so I’ll definitely update once things are set in stone! We’ve also got plans to travel to Spain, Greece, Copenhagen, France and potentially Switzerland. Not entirely sure at this point how many of those trips we’ll actually get to make, but I’m already getting excited for our Spring Break trip.

Last night, a few of my friends and I went up to Piazza Michaelangelo to see the sunset. It was unbelievably gorgeous and, if you couldn’t tell by my video, gives you an incredible view of the whole city. From the Piazza, it’s easy to tell that Florence really is an anachronism. It’s a very modern city but has some of the most ancient buildings and architecture that have ever existed. I’m really enjoying exploring the side streets of the city and seeing the beauty that is truly there.

One more final update for now! The food! It is incredible. Actually, incredible is an understatement. We’ve discovered a delicious little restaurant at the end of our street – we’ve literally been 4 times already. Their pizzas are fantastic, as are their other dishes. We went last night and I decided to order a meat dish because I’m starting to tire of eating pasta and pizza every day. The description said chicken cutlet with balsamic and lentils and rocket [the Italian word for arugula lettuce]. Sadly, the meal wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, as it was literally a huge bed of rocket with some balsamic and approximately 4 strips of chicken on top. I know my body appreciated the protein but I’ll have to be more careful with what I order from now on! I’ve been cooking a little bit but it’s hard because our kitchen is pretty barren in terms of kitchen appliances/stuff. There’s a good grocery store right around the corner, as well as a great outdoor market that’s not too far away. I spent a solid 8 minutes trying to navigate OUT of a grocery store on my way home from class 2 days ago…had to finally ask someone how to get out of the store [embarrassing!]

Well, that’s all for now. Hope all of my UVA friends are back at school and enjoying themselves and lots of love to all of my family and friends. Ciao for now!! 

just a taste

longer post to come tomorrow, i promise! in the meantime, here is a taste of what i did tonight :) ciao! 

Classi!

So I finally got my schedule today! Besides the fact that I've got a 9AM everyday, I really like it. I got into all of the classes I wanted and have a few with some of my friends. So, here it is: 

9-10:30 Monday and Wednesday: Cross Cultural Psychology [the teacher for this class is a really fun/funny Australian lady! She spoke at our orientation and it sounds like the class is going to be great. I'm really looking forward to it]

10:45-12:15 Monday and Wednesday: The History and Culture of Food [need I say more??]

12:30-1:30 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: Italian 101 [this will probably be my most difficult class but I'm dying to learn some basics of the language. I've been very impressed with the amount of English most of the Italians know but it would be nice to be able to communicate even at the most basic level]

9-10:30 Tuesday and Thursday: The Art of Florence [this is a site-based class where every other class is spent AT the site that we studied the class before. Should be incredible!]

The only drawback to the location of my apartment is that it's a good 25-30 minutes away from school, womp womp. Oh well - it's a breathtaking walk and therefore makes it infinitely less painful. So far the weather has been perfect. In the 50-60s and hasn't rained a day [knock on wood]! Today, Devon and I signed up for an excursion to Chianti and then a day trip to Sienna. I'm really looking forward to both of those trips and I'll make sure to update yall with some pictures and stories! We've also got a trip to Rome in the works for the first weekend in February and then my parents come the second weekend in February! 

Well, I've got to head out soon but I'll post again once classes start! Ciao!

Via San Nicollo, 43

Buona Serata!

Well, I'm officially writing to you from my bedroom of my apartment in Firenze, Italy. Before I delve into the details of the past 2 days, let me give you the few highlights from my journey across the pond. Highlight 1: Both of my suitcases were under weight!! Ended up having to take a few extra things out before leaving home, but at least now I have some extra weight to bring things back to the states! Highlight 2: After arriving in Paris, we only had about an hour and 15 minutes to make it to our terminal and catch our last flight to Florence. Once we got our passports stamped, we started following the French signs to get to terminal 2G. We turn to enter the terminal and there are about 5 news cameras set up on the doors of right where we exited! We were a combination of confused and excited and since we couldn't figure out what was going on, we decided to ask a man working at a kiosk. Us: Excuse me sir, what is going on?? Man: Nicholas Sarzkozy is arriving Us: confused looks. Man: The French President...'scoff'. SO, we got to see the French president, even though none of us knew who he was [that's embarrassing]. Highlight 3: Well, this is technically the only lowlight. After arriving in Florence, we headed straight to the baggage claim area, anxious to claim our incredibly large bags. We had been told that it was very common for not all of the bags to make it, so of course I was a basket case. Luckily my mom is genius and packed exactly half of my clothes in each suitcase, just as a precautionary measure. Anyways, the bags start coming out and naturally Devon's [my roommate here in Italy as well as fellow Wahoo] bags are literally the first ones on the belt! I breathe a huge size of relief as I see one of my two suitcases finally emerge. But, as the bag frequency starts to dwindle and I notice that there are only a few other people standing around, I start to get really nervous. I hear a loud beep and then the belt shuts off, no more bags to be unloaded. I take a deep breath and try not to freak out as I head to the 'lost and found' [aka italian claims] counter to report my missing bag. Unfortunately we were the last to get in line and were stuck behind a Chinese family [who didn't get ANY of their luggage] who didn't speak English or Italian. Needless to say, 45 minutes later I was starting to get antsy. A few moments later, we hear this really loud beep and a light begins to flash. Defeated, I turn around and see a flash of red on the far belt. I run over and wait for the bag to reemerge and low and behold a lone bag came out and...IT WAS MINE! It was literally a miracle and from that moment on, I've been having a blast.

Okay so I'll stop being so wordy and start being more interesting. Our apartment is gorgeous - it's a 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom authentic Italian-style place. We live on the same street as Ponte Vecchio [sorry if that spelling is butchered] and one street over from the famous bridge that is in all of the pictures of Firenze (florence-italy.jpg). We live a few minutes away from Santa Croce [apparently that's where a lot of the nightlife is] and about 20 minutes away from our school. It's a gorgeous city and I can't wait to explore it even more. Yesterday, Devon and I went out for our first Italian meal...Pizza! 5 Euros gets you a deliciously huge personal pizza. A few things I learned in just that one experience: water is not free [3 euros just for water...we're spoiled in america], you don't tip the waiters [devon and I tipped cause we didn't know this, oh well] and if you are brought bread, you eat it with your 2nd course because it is a carbohydrate! It's definite culture shock and it's so crazy walking around in this foreign country but I absolutely love it. The jet lag was a bit rough yesterday but after a 2 hour nap and a very solid 9 hours of sleep at night, I'm basically over it now! We have orientation today through Saturday and then classes start Monday, so I should have some more exciting updates for over the weekend. Devon and I went to a grocery store today and stocked up on a few essentials, ie: bread, vino and nutella. So far we haven't been able to find out any information on a gym, so it's probably a good thing that the school is a pretty decent walk. Anyways, hope all is well with everyone back in the States!

this is the neighborhood i live in! if you cross that bridge and go to the left, you'll find my apartment :)

the view from the bridge at sunset!

sorry for the crappy picture quality - i forgot my camera so my [non-functioning] blackberry was all i had!
CIAO

Packing: DONE

This day should go down in history: I finally finished packing for Italy and I'm now just counting down till next Tuesday the 11th!! Instead of blogging about my struggle, I thought I'd share this short video with you to give you a look into what I've been working on. Enjoy and talk to you from Italy!!

T-Minus 1 Week!

168 hours. 1 week. Uno Settimana. 7 short days stand between me and Florence and at this point, I'm raring to go. I still haven't actually started the long and arduous process of packing, but I've certainly thought about it enough! While I was gone saying goodbye to friends in Northern Virginia, my mom was busy creating the most extensive to-do list you've ever seen. Overwhelmed by the sheer length of the list, I stopped reading about halfway through and decided to put it off until the morning. And now, as the clock strikes 1pm, I'm still looking for things to do to avoid the inevitable. After waking up at 8:30 (thank you, miserable body clock), I unpacked from the weekend, put away my laundry, cleaned my desk, color coded my closet, uploaded pictures to facebook and now I'm here. I've exhausted all of my procrastination efforts and I can no longer put it off any longer. So, just like that, I've made up my mind. When I finish this post, I will start at the top of my list and work steadfastly until I've run out of steam. I've got 7 days to finish 53 things and I've definitely got my work cut out for me. At the top of my list of things to get done: call bank of america (I was bummed when my mom said that telling her I was going out of the country wasn't adequate documentation for BofA's purposes), call at&t, make 349 copies of my passport/visa (but actually- I've got to take about 8 copies in case something goes wrong) and PACK. A wave of panic and anxiety still rushes over me whenever I think about fitting everything into 2 suitcases but, with careful planning and preparation, I'm starting to get a little more comfortable with the idea. Granted, I probably won't be able to take all 53 pairs of my shoes or 17 pairs of my jeans, but in the words of Tim Gunn, I'll just have to 'make it work'.

But alas, I must depart. As you enjoy your last days of relaxing at home, remember me slaving away as I pack for what is sure to be some of the best months of my life. Oh and for everyone that keeps asking (coughDADcough), comments can be posted by clicking the 'comment' button at the bottom of the post.

Ciao,
Marlene