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.