My Parents Left me in Europe

So, midterm week actually ended over a week ago, but as soon as they were finished my parents came into town!!! That's my sad excuse as to why I have left no REAL post in about two weeks.

Sadly, now it is just me again chillin' in Florence as my parents left this morning to return to the U. S. of A. I know they were probably ready to be back, but we had a wonderful time, and I loved having them here for a little while. We saw Florence (in fact I think I saw some of Florence for the first time - it's different being a tourist), and then we went to Rome for two days and Cinque Terre for two days and then Florence again, and we finished with a nice lunch in Chianti. I hope they enjoyed Italy as much as I have since August.

Pictures of Florence Day 1 (post jetlag)

Have you ever seen the Colosseum? Well you should because it's awesome. I think it was actually bigger than I imagined. We took a guided tour through that and the Roman Ruins on our second day of Rome. On the first we saw the pope. Yep, that's right, the pope. On Sundays at noon he comes out to bless the crowd and we were in the crowd. It was so cool, especially when I understood some of his little mini-sermon which was in Italian. He did greet everyone about 7 times in a different language each time. I'm not catholic, but it was still quite an experience. That same day we saw St. Peter's Basilica which was also beautiful. There was some sort of Parade/Spanish Mass going on while we were in there, but it almost just added to it. They were singing in Spanish and these priests came down while we were slowly walking around checking out the statues and the high altar and the dome. We also saw the alleged tomb of St. Peter (the first pope) and John Paul II. I also mailed myself a post card from the Vatican - now how many people have something postmarked "Vatican City." Well, I do as soon as it gets to me. Not to brag or anything.

I Saw the Pope.

After Rome we returned to Florence, but only to catch another train the following day to Cinque Terre. I'd been before, but it was raining. And I'm not going to lie, I was a little disheartened when the morning we left was looking a little cloudy, but it cleared up in no time, and I finally got to see the five little cliff side towns in the sunlight instead of in the gloom. Going to Cinque Terre was also a nice relief from the hectic travel of seeing things in Rome and Florence. We hiked and ate crepes and road trains and stared astonishingly at the sea. It was wonderful.

Absolutely Stunning.

We finished off with another more relaxing day in Florence. We started by returning to the Central Market and then visiting the Boboli Gardens which I'm sad I hadn't ventured to before as they are also beautiful and quite relaxing. Then we headed up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato for the fantastic views over Florence. When we got to San Miniato there were either priests or monks chanting or singing inside and we sat on a pew for a little while and listened. (I still say they were chanting monks, but I'm not sure the dilemma will ever be solved.) Then, oddly enough someone decided to turn San Miniato Pink for a night. They had these giant pink stage lights set up and as it started to get dark they turned them on and the whole facade of San Miniato turned Pink. If nothing else I got to take some good photos. My mom and I decided that San Miniato thought they weren't getting enought visitors and the whole show was a crazy marketing scheme as you could see the church that is typically hidden in the dark, clearly from the other side of the river.

The Pink Church.

On our final day, we turned the pace down even more and took a bus to Chianti where I went only a few weeks ago and did a tour of the wine cellar and the vineyard and whatnot and then had that amazing five-course meal again. I have to say, I think it was better the second time, but just as filling. I may even ride that bus out there again, just to go through the countryside and see all the fall colors again. It is getting so gorgeous when you actually see trees.

Florence needs more trees.

I shall try not to go so long again without a good post, but as you can see, it was only in an effort to have a number of big adventures to share. Everyone say hello to the fall for me and enjoy the trees.

And since I'm way behind:

I made Octopus and Chocolate Cake.

Troppe Cose Fare - Too Much To Do

Apparently Italians take midterms too, or at least Americans in Italy have to.

I still have so much to do, including, but not limited to the following:

finish my book for bookbinding
study for my architecture exam
print out my pieces for writing
take (and possibly study for) my Italian exam
finish buying a few things to send home with my parents
pack for next week
go to the Boboli Gardens (just cause I feel I should)
sleep so I don't get sick from this sudden surge of cold weather
anxiously await the arrival of my parents

So, I would leave a more lengthy post with more interesting detail about things such as the beauty of going to Chianti and eating five course meals or making Octopus in cooking class, but these stories will have to wait until the above list is a little shorter.

Alla volta prossima, Jessica

I want to live on a Ferry

No, really - I do. (beware - there are plenty)

So, the sun rises in Florence beginning just before seven in the morning. I discovered this Friday morning while sitting in the train station wondering whether or not they were kidding about how serious it was that we arrive at 6 since it was approaching seven and we hadn't moved from the meeting spot. Fortunately we did finally get on a bus and pull out of Florence for Amalfi, but it wouldn't be Italy if we didn't make about 300 stops along the way including two unexplanable ones, where we all sat on the bus and watched our chain smoking guide from Cinque Terre take a smoke break. Honestly, I think at least one of those stops was specifically for that.

I think I sound cynical, but really, it was just funny. Italians are rarely rushed. So, we then stopped in Naples too, just to see the sea and let a few people get their wallets stolen. Seriously, that place is sketchy. We hadn't been out of the bus for two minutes and someone had already gotten pickpocketed. Thankfully, it wasn't me, but I still felt really bad for the girl. At least, now I can say I went to Napoli, but I don't think I'd ever return.

The Amalfi Coast, on the otherhand, was splendid. I don't know that I have ever seen water so blue and skies so clear. Being outside the city and near the sea was completely refreshing. We drove up and onto these winding roads and suddenly we were overlooking the most beautiful sea. We drove along there for 30 minutes or more (probably more) and I just sat and stared at the sea. I stared partly because it was so gorgeous and partly because I had to do something to keep my mind off of the thought that our bus wasn't going to make it around the next winding turn. Scary. But we made it.

The next day was filled with ferry rides and chillin' in Capri. I love ferries I decided. They are fantastic. The breeze, the scenery. I think I could've gone all the way there just to ride the ferry around the island, to and from little coastal towns. Actually, on our way to Capri that morning, the ferry made a pick-up at Positano, which is another town in Under the Tuscan Sun. I mean, Capri was great, Amalfi was great that evening (I bought limoncello), but the ferry I loved. I know that sounds insane, but it was relaxing and beautiful out there, and it was great to just be able to rest and enjoy.

So, then Sunday we went to Pompeii. We had a crazy guide. She was hilarious. She kept referring to us as "you who stay in Florence." It was great. And more importantly, I got to see the city that I always heard so much about from Mrs. Clark-Brown. My High School Latin Class came to life before my eyes in the form of columns and volcanic rock. Crazy.

Last night I made Foccacia Bread.

I made Pasta on a guitar.

I'm not kidding. We made Maccheroni alla Chitarra; that's macceroni on a guitar. It wasn't your normal, everyday looking guitar, and it is unlikely that it would play any sort of beautiful music, but still, it's the principle of the thing. It was also delicious - the pasta, not the guitar.

The fact that I made Pasta from scratch is all that matters here.

Once Upon a Time a Monk and Two Nuns Had Lunch at a Cafe in Assisi

So, I decided shortly after arriving that one of my goals while I was here should be to get a picture of a nun or a monk, so when we sat down to lunch at a cafe outside of the Basilica di San Francesco right across from a monk and two nuns I decided to be brave and accomplish my goals. I mean, seriously, how often do you find the opportunity to take a picture of a monk and two nuns eating gelato? Actually, I've made a few random nun friends in the last few days, and Amber even said she saw a monk staring at me while we were in Assisi, but I don't know how I feel about that last one. One of the nun friends was this cute little nun from India that we sat with on the train to Perugia the first day of our little weekend adventure. She was nice and told us when to get off the train - always helpful.

Alright enough with monks and nuns - now on to the adventure gone awry - very awry in fact, and then the adventure amazingissimo (that's not really an italian word; I made it up).

Friday we went to Perugia. We didn't see much of Perugia. We mostly saw this really giant hill that we walked up though we should have ridden a bus, but seeing how I didn't understand the lady at the bus ticket window, I didn't know that. Fear not though, because my Italian skills increased tenfold on Friday. After walking halfway up the hill, we decided that a little espresso would hopefully bring the smiles back to our faces so we stopped at a bar where we put down our very heavy bags and asked the kind guy who made our caffè how to get to the bus station. I should actually say, I asked and attempted to figure out what he was saying. I did understand him mostly, and we continued on toward our destination. We finally got to the bus station and caught a bus to our hostel on this lake. The hostel at least was beautiful, but a little bit out of the way. A lot bit out of the way, and fortunately for Amber and I, the train only stops in the town where our hostel was like two times a day. Thankfully, we didn't know that until we got there and needed to get back to Perugia to catch another bus to La Perugina (the chocolate factory). Yeah (huge amounts of sarcasm)...so we got a ride from the owner of the hostel who drove us quickly through the countryside to catch a train in Magione instead of Torricella. The rest of the day went by fairly well, except that we had to call the owner of the hostel one last time because we read the train schedule wrong so we had him pick us up at Magione.

We were unhappy people waiting at the train station at the end of that day, but we had chocolate.

Assisi went much better. We checked the train timetables as soon as we got back to the hostel from Perugia and caught the 9 o'clock on Saturday morning out of Torricella to Assisi; then we caught the shuttle bus that took us the 4 km into the City Center where all the beautifulness was. We landed at about 10:45 in the city, and I got a much needed Caffèlatte and dolce before we headed into the Basilica di San Francesco (the church of Saint Francis). That place was beautiful. I had studied it a little in my architecture class, but seeing it... incredible. I wish I could have taken fotos of the inside, but it was not permitted. Most of the churches here are these giant open cathedrals with giant columns. They are all very grand and decorated and beautiful, but something about this one, with its long nave and lack of aisles was more richly spiritual. I can't explain it, but I bought a book of Saint Francis' writings, and what I have read about his life so far is pretty amazing.

After spending the whole morning in the church, we stopped for lunch and then headed up the hill, mosying in and out of shops and seeing this beautiful old city. My only regret was that we walked so long and so slowly up this hill, just enjoying the day, that we never made it all the way to the Basilica di Santa Chiara (Francis' girlfriend). I hear it is also a sight to behold. Perhaps I will just have to return to Assisi. I did see a gorgeous sunset though on our powerwalk down the hill to catch the bus.

Absolutely Amazing.

... just a little more.

Calcio. Soccer.

Today, I went to a Soccer Game - Fiorentina (Florence's Team) v. Catania. We won. Italians are very much into their soccer. The whole place was filled with Purple and singing and chanting and excitement. I'm amazed daily at all the things I've done here - the figuring out transportation schedules, the speaking Italian all over the place, the going to a soccer game and jumping up with a bunch of smelly men chanting things I don't understand, the drinking caffè, the monumental amounts of walking. I also just noticed that two of my MUST DOS from the long ago posts have been completed: hike Cinque Terre and Visit Santa Croce. I've done both of those, and two weekends from now I'm going to Chianti!

Now, I just need to find a hat shop that sells hats in hat boxes...