in rome

I am in an internet point in rome right now. its really expensive for internet.

i will post pics of my last week in perugia soon. last night i said bye to everyone i had met. it was kind of sad. my roommates and photography class had alot of fun together.

my experience in rome will be entirely different i think.

my photography teacher really liked my work over the semester. she said that she hoped i would continue in the states.

last week

so i got sick this past week. flu-like symptoms. it sucked.

i'm at my art show right now. my friend mel came into town.

more when i get to rome.

archaeology and the tuscan sun

this past weekend I explored Perugia and took a day trip to Cortona

there was a train strike from Thursday 9pm to Friday 9pm that put a damper on my travelisng situation. so i just decided to stay in perugia and explore.

thursday night i went to a bar to see my friend lauren sing with two american guys we met a couple weeks ago. it was fun and good to see a concert for the first time since the states.

friday I went to the local archaeology museum that had a bunch of cool artifacts from all the way back in the 6th cent BCE. also most of the stuff they had there had been found in perugia. it was a good size place and i was the only one in there for a while. i got scared in one room when i entered because the lights all of sudden came on when i entered.


the courtyard of the museum


funerary urns from the museum

saturday I took a day trip by myself to cortona. its a small tuscan town about 45 min by train away from perugia. you may have heard of it from the movie and book "Under the Tuscan Sun". what I didnt know is that the train station was at the bottom of the hill and the town was on top, so I had to figure out how to get up there. once I made it up, I went to a museum, ate the best panino i have had here, just chilled in the city. it was fun going and navigating an italian town by myself.


view from Cortona

then sunday lauren, jackson, and I went on a walking tour of Perugia. jackson led since he had lived here for 5 months. i finished taking my photos for my class and we went to a photograhpy exhibit put on by the city. it was really cool because they had b&w pictures of the city from 1900. so I was able to see places that I walk by everyday from 1900. we also were walking by a house when we heard a women yelling and breaking stuff. it was kind of funny.

this is my last week in perugia. I have a final assignment due in photography and a final in food on thursday. after the final we are having a party and then on friday all the art students are putting on a show. so my photographs will be dispalyed for my fellow students. then saturday I will go to Rome by train and start my second program.

everyone is talking about going home to the US and is making me think that. but then I remember that I'm staying here for 4 more weeks. Thanks for eveyone who reads this and I miss yall!

Ciao ragazzi!

some of my photos from my photography class taken with my digital camera (so not good quality)
http://utexas.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2281438&l=6cab5&id=7905232

photos from the weekend:
http://utexas.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2284846&l=90ff8&id=7905232

past week

Some fun things happened this past week,

On Monday we went to an opera house that had been converted to a movie theater to see a movie. On Mondays they have American movie night, so we saw Zodiac in English.

Then Tuesday and Wednesday, I had home cooked meals. One of them was American breakfast. It was the first time I have had American food here. We have French toast (I guess thats not American), eggs, hashbrowns, and sausage.

This weekend I want to travel somewhere but dont know where. And it makes it a little harder beacuse the train workers are on strike from Thursday 9pm to Friday 9pm.

It is starting to get hot here. Outside its not really that bad, considering its not Texas heat and humid. Its inside thats bad because there is no A/C. So sleeping is pretty bad too.

In school news, I got an A on both my photo assignment and food cultures test.

Ciao

change of plans

so i actually decided to stay in Perugia this weekend. i wanted to save money and just take a break from traveling.

thus i spent my first weekend fully in Perugia. at night the city is nuts. the main street (Corso Venucchi) and the main piazza and steps (Piazza IV Novembre) are crowed with people. so many people (mostly college students) everywhere til really late at night. its insane.

so only two more weeks in Perugia taking classes. I'm only three weeks in and I miss so many people from home and UT. Lauren (LC) and I reminisce.

But since I didnt go anywhere this weekend - no new pics, me dispiace.

Arrivederci!

this week

so i had my first photography project and test in food cultures this week. we'll see how they turn out next week.

this weekend i am going to pompeii and sorrento. im really excited about pompeii and the ruins.

check in with yall later.

ps: non-southerns are fascinated by the world yall

caio

cinque terre

I had a full weekend. Friday in Tuscany for a field trip with my food class, Saturday in Cinque Terre, and Sunday in Florence.

Friday:
We left at 6:30 am for out field trip. We stop a cheese farm and factory, a winery, and then went to a farmhouse. At the farmhouse we cooked a 7 course meal which we subsequently ate. It included bruschette, spinach and parmesan ravoli, some bread/tomato soup, gnocchi with ragu, fried potatoes, chicken, and tiramisu. It was wonderful! Then we went to Florence and checked in at our hotel.




Saturday:
We went to Cinque Terre early in the morning. There we hiked between the five cities for a total of 5 hours. The views were so beautiful that pictures dont even do justice - most beautiful place I've been. One minute you feel like you are hiking through the rainforest, then the Italian coast, then through Colorado, then through a Central American town, then an African jungle. Just great. And while on the trail I ran into 3 guys I know from BYX at UT, it was so random but good. I knew they were backpacking through Europe but not where. Then we relaxed on the beach and I swam in the Mediteraenean!






Sunday:
We explored Florence and I was able to actually go in some museums. We went through the Bargello which had Donatello's David and some minor works of Michaelango. Then we went to the Duomo Museum which housed alot of old pieces from the duomo. It had the Ghiberti's bronze doors, Michaelango's Pieta, and Donatello's Mary Magdalene. There was also John the Baptist's finger - weird. Then we went inside the actual duomo - breathtaking with the high ceilings and art. Then we got on the wrong train home and went 4 hours out of the way - only bad thing about the weekend.





all my pics from the weekend:
http://utexas.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277207&l=5e35c&id=7905232

http://utexas.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277224&l=0e3d8&id=7905232

this weekend

I have a full weekend ahead of me.

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip for my food class. We are going into the Tuscan country, visiting a chesse factory, wine plant, and then cooking a Tuscan meal together. Then some friends and I are going to hike through Cinque Terre (The five villages) on Saturday. All the villages are on the coast. Then on Sunday we are going to do Florence again but hopefully get into the museums.



Ciao, yall!

all my photos

Here are the links to my photo albums:
perugia 1:
http://utexas.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2270961&l=20ee7&id=7905232

florence and pisa:
http://utexas.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2274169&l=9f3bf&id=7905232

perugia 2:
http://utexas.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2274169&l=9f3bf&id=7905232

so you dont have to be on facebook to view them

the rest of the weekend

The rest of Saturday:
After Florence, we went to Pisa. We wanted to go to Bologna but it was too expensive. In Pisa of course we saw the leaning tower of Pisa.



Then we got back to Florence and went out the people we met from TCU. On Sunday my roommates went shopping in the market and we went back to Perugia.

The trip this past weekend really made me miss Perugia. It feels more like home after going to Florence and Pisa. Also both those cities were overrun with tourists and all the vendors speak English.

Yesterday in photography, we learned how to develop film. It was interesting and now I know how to make negatives.

Also there is this feature on my blog where you can can leave comments on my posts. Its at the very bottom of the post. This is an easy way for you to talk to me without sending an email.
Ciao, raggazzi!

one week

Okay so I've realized I can't blog about everyday, so I will just do highlights from now on.

In terms of class, I have taken two rolls of film and will learn to develop it today. Also in my food cultures class I gave a presentation and we learned about wine and wine tasting.

On Friday my roommates and I decided to go to Florence for the weekend. We hopped on the train and got there Friday night. While on the train we ran into some people from our program from TCU (shout out to LoNix). When we got to Florence we started looking for a hotel/hostel since we didnt book one in advance. On the third try it worked out.

So on Saturday we went to the Piazza della Signoria which has a bunch of statues including the fake David. They were great.



Then we went to the Medici Chapel, but unfortunately no cameras were allowed so I have no pics. But it was amazing! There are three parts: the crypt, the Chapel of the Princes, and the New Sacristy. Walking into the Chapel was breathtaking. The high ceiling and dome and murals and everything in there was surreal. If you can look up pics of the chapel and the sacristy - they were great.

Well I gotta go to class, but I will update later about the rest of the weekend. Ciao.

va bene

so alot has happened since my last post.

my apartment is really far from where the city is (20 mins up and down hill) so i only come in for class. therefore i have little time for the internet. but i am going to try to work out a schedule so i can update this page as much as i can.



that is LC and I at the airport in Rome.

Saturday:
As you know from my last post, I was waiting for my taxi to take my roommates and I to our apartment. I met my other roommates: two others from UT, one from UIllinois, one from UIndiana, and one from Ole Miss. At first the taxi driver got confused and dropped us off at the wrong place but after 30 minutes we finally made it 30 meters away to our highrise apartment. It is REALLY nice - alot better than I expected. There are 2 bedrooms with 2 beds and 2 more bedrooms with a single bed - thats what Im in. We have 2 full bathrooms and 3 balconies. Our view is AMAZING!


The view from my apartment.

But the city has so many hills, that it is a great hike to my apartment. So the rest of Saturday we unpacked and rested from jet lag.

Sunday:
We met at 10 am for orientation at the main piazza by our school. It is surrounded by two huge duomo (church) with alot of steps and has a magnificent fountain in it. I was told my a local that it was the best Gothic fountain in all of Italy.


LC and I on the steps


Piazza IV Novembre and the fountain

But the one drawback is that the fountain is closed for renovation and wont be running until after we leave. At orientaion a police officer from Florence gave us the low down on how to stay safe here. He had good control of English - enough to make jokes. After that we went on a short walking tour of the central city. Our tour guide was funny and strange. He pointed out an arch which legend has it that if anyone crosses underneath before graduating from college, they wont recieve thier degree - he told us to stay away from it. He pointed out the four buildings that my school has - The Umbra Institute.

After that we registered for classes and bought our books. I am taking Photography 1 on MW and History of Food Culture of Italy on TTH. That night we went out to eat at this quaint pizzeria that so far has the cheapest and best pizza in town. Then we went to an Irish pub that played American club music, which I thought was funny on two planes. Towards the end of the night this older man started talking to us and dancing to the music awkwardly. He kept hitting on the girls and told us he was from Boston, even though he had an Italian accent. We found out the next day that he was a gypsy.

Now gypsies in Italy think of clever ways to steal your money. Most are kids and moms who distract with a piece of paper or baby. So while your eyes are on that they rummage through your pockets. Some gypsy children will knock things out of your hand (sanwhiches, gelato, etc) and then take it once it falls on the ground. Pretty tricky.

Monday:
Slept in late because my first class didnt start til 3. But it was rainy and cold so not a very good day to walk up massive hills. The class was photography and there are 9 people in it. One of my roommates is in the class too and we asked our teacher if by chance she knew where our street was. She had been living there for 6 six years and didnt know where it was. I think we are the farthest group away and we are off the map they gave us. Anyway in photography we will learn how to take pictures and develop film ourselves.

That night we went out again to a bar that had karaoke. Since all the words were in English, the bar was filled with Americans and most of them were drunk. I did meet two girls from The Woodlands so it was fun finding out people that we both knew.

The way commercial places work around here is that they are open from 9-1 and 4-9. They take a break during the day to rest or nap. Also bars are everywhere, but a bar in Italy is different. Here they sell sandwhiches, pastries, and coffee and are open during the day. The pub and club is where people go out to drink at night. But also here is Perugia, the steps at the piazza is a big hangout spot for the Italians. Literally hundreds of people were out on the steps Saturday and Sunday night. Also the night life here is crowded becuase Perugia is a big university town. There are at least 3 universities here in the center of town. Also I never have class on Fridays.

So thats it for today. I will update for Tuesday, Wednesday and today later. I may be going to Venice or NW Italy this weekend. Ciao!

Arrival

I am in Italia!!!

Specifically Perugia, but I arrived in Italy 6 hours ago. I flew 9 hours to London and had an hour layover and then 2 1/2 hours to Rome - all British Airways. This was only my second time to fly and first time in Europe. The overnight flight was really nice and good food. There were individual TV screens with alot of channels.

I was blessed to sit by a couple who were connecting to the same flight to Rome as me. We only had 55 minutes to transfer in London, so it was nice to go through the hectic time with others.

Once I got to Rome though I found LC and we started our journey together to Perugia. In case you don't know, LC is a girl I know from Longhorn Singers who is going on the same program as me for June. We rode a bus to Perugia and now we are waiting at a hotel to go to our apartments.

Ciao!

Getting ready

So in the past couple of days, I have received my passport and ISIC. Getting these things have made me more excited and anxious about going to Italy. I leave in five days from Houston. I will have a connection in London and then on to Rome.

I have been purchasing supplies for the trip and the dig and learning Italian in the past week. I have to remember to pack light. It is starting to set in that I am actually going out of country in less than a week.

first post

so im creating a blog to record my travels in Italy this summer.

I will be in Perugia, Italia from May 26th til June 30th taking two classes: Photography and Food Cultures of Italy.

I will be in Roma, Italia from June 30th til July 29th excavating a synagogue with one of my professors.

I'm really excited about this summer and will hopefully keep this updated as much as possible for my family and friends back in the US.