No Longer Under Construction... The Final Product!

I'm so not finished with this entry, but I am going to post what I have and update it as soon as I can. I promise! I'm just busy here!

So here begins what I’m sure is the most long-anticipated blog post in history of the world. I need to stop making promises I can’t keep about when I am going to be able to update this thing. It’s just that I want to enjoy the time I have in Italy, and sometimes that means not sitting at my computer and attempting to write an accurate and witty account of my time here.

BUT I am going to make time to get this all out now, or I’m afraid I will fall so far behind that I am discouraged from even attempting to catch up. Here goes nothing…

Wednesday. So there was class. Blehhhhhh. We went over the tests from the previous day, and it wasn’t the prettiest thing ever. Oh well. I am challenging myself and still working as hard as I can on all this crazy grammar. I just want to learn the language and be able to speak it. The grammar throws me off a little.

After class I went to buy train tickets with Sara, Lauren, and Jessica. We weren’t willing to pay 80 Euros rounds trip and ride Eurostar, so we ended up getting tickets for 32 Euros round trip. It made our ride there 4 hours as opposed to 1 ½. We thought it was worth saving the money at the time, but we may have changed our minds a little come Friday…

We grabbed food and went back up to CLIDA to use their internet to book a hostel. We chose the cheapest one with the best location that was left (very close to the train station)… It was called Hostel Pink Floyd. Sounds like a party, right?

Lauren, Sara, and I then went back to the Uffizi Gallery (since Lauren hadn’t been there yet, and Sara and I had a few more things to see). Since we had seen most of the important works in there already, Sara and I didn’t stay long. But we did go see “The Birth of Venus” by Botticelli again, just because it’s so famous and pretty.

We attempted to shop for a little while after the museum. But clothes are just so expensive! And then I have to think about the conversion rate from Euros to dollars… I just don’t plan on buying too much stuff over here, I suppose. BUT, what made my day so much better was stopping for gelato. Yum. I got a cherry flavor. My first fruit flavor, and it was delicious. I guess I am addicted to cherries after the cooking lesson from last Tuesday.

We chilled at the apartment for a few hours before dinner. I was starving, somehow, even though I had eaten plenty all day. It is a talent of mine, I suppose. Matt wasn’t at dinner because he had already left for Scotland. That was weird not having somebody to translate for me! Haha. But it meant I tried to talk more, and that was for sure a good thing.

Oh, and Paolo told me that he loves me. J I had heard that the night before when we had cooking lessons, they had Kansas girls over and had fed them gelato. Then we passed two of them walking away from the house when we were walking back toward it, and they said, “Ciao!” Kate and Kayla told use the next morning about gelato, and I was TICKED off… especially when I thought about the ciao thing. I told Paolo all of this, and he almost died laughing at my semi-feigned anger. He said, “Mi piace Stephanie,” and “Amo Stephanie.” I was so happy I almost cried. Great end to the night!

Thursday. All my thoughts are starting to get a little mixed up, but I hope that I’ll be able to keep my days straight as far as what I did. I woke up a little early because I wanted to look cute for the pictures I was going to take with Laura later on in the day. I wore my pink Old Navy dress (me… in a dress… shocking, I know). It was cool and comfortable AND it has pockets. So it was just about perfect. But my white flip flops and the dirty ground in Florence didn’t get along so well.

I went to breakfast, walked to school, and suffered through the first two hours of grammar grammar grammar. Bleh. During the break I went to get coffee with my friend, Ben, and was at least a little more energetic when I got back for the last two hours of class. The conversation part of class was actually pretty good. We got to read and discuss our horoscopes… which is always interesting, even though that stuff is all ridiculous.

After class, I grabbed sandwiches with Lauren and Sara, and we went over to the Medici Chapel. I don’t know as much as I probably should about the Medici family, but I knew enough to appreciate the historical value of all the stuff there. And I was just impressed by the richness of all the materials used there. I can’t even begin to process how much all of those precious stones and metals must be worth!

I went to CLIDA to use their internet for a while and then went with Sarah to H&M. I actually ended up buying a shirt and dress, although it took a few hours for me to even pick those out. Since the store is partly underground, I had no cell phone reception. When I came up to ground level, I saw that Laura had been calling and texting me for a while.

We met up, took some silly and cute and fun pictures in Florence, and then went to get gelato. As you know by now, that is always a good idea. I had some caramel-y flavor because I’m trying to taste them all… not my favorite, but it was still really good.

When we were finished with that, we went to meet my roommates and a few of Laura’s friends and the Accademia. That’s where DAVID is! First, we looked at photography by Robert Maplethorpe which is being featured at the museum currently. I suppose it was all very artistic, but I mostly just noticed that there was a lot of nudity in it. But then came the best nude of all: The David! It was ridiculous seeing it up close; it was one of those things I just never expected to actually see in person. And I saw him from all angles… I’ve only seen the front before. And he has really big hands. I guess that’s as much as I got from that, although somebody told me that he is supposed to represent Florence. As in Florence is the David to Rome’s Goliath. I like it!

Sara, Jessica, and I went home for dinner with the wonderful host family. It was so much fun, as usual. And we sang “Poker Face” with Paolo; that always makes for an interesting night. After dinner, Sara and I met up with other people from our group at the Duomo. We were planning to go sing “Sweet Home Alabama” at a bar that has karaoke. Our night got a little crazy because a guy that likes one of the girls in our group showed up and wanted to talk to her. But it’s a fun experience trying to lose a guy on the streets of Florence. It wasn’t dangerous at all… just hilarious. And we had pepper spray (Diva Defense) just in case anything went awry. Sleep was good after all that craziness.

Friday.

I had to get up early to pack since we had to even leave class early to get to our train on time. Fighting through 3 1/2 hours of class was the hardest thing ever when all I really wanted to think about was going to ROME. But I somehow managed to survive anyway! Maybe because I was getting to leave 30 minutes early, and that just made it feel infinitely better.

At 12:30, I met Sara, Jessica, Lauren, and Kirk in the lobby of CLIDA. We grabbed sandwiches across the street and then made our way to the train station. Kirk had to buy a ticket there since he had just decided to come with us the night before (to fill our extra bed so that we didn’t have to cover the cost ourselves). We got on the train and were happy to find a private 6 person room.

But, when the train started, we realized that something was very wrong. The air conditioning was broken. And the window in our compartment wouldn’t open. And we had gone on the 4 hour train to save money. I mean, REALLY?!? We were all dying of heat… I think it was the hottest day out since we got here, and we were cooped up on this horrible train. I didn’t want to do anything to produce extra body heat, so I didn’t write or do any of the productive things I had originally planned. NOT a good start to the weekend. I was sticky and smelly, and I almost sweated to death in a freaking sun dress! (“No air” became a key phrase for our trip after this!)

It was like Heaven when we got off that effing train, though. As soon as we were somewhat oriented, we headed to a place across the street for gelato. I got mint, even though I had gotten it before. It was incredibly refreshing and just what I needed after those miserable 4 hours.

We got a map, somehow figured out where the hotel we were supposed to check in was, and then proceeded to make the very short walk there and do so. A guy showed us to our room in our hostel… which was in a separate building down the street. Our hostel, Hostel Pink Floyd = 3 bedrooms labeled A, B, and C with pieces of paper on the door. Fabulous! Haha. But the price was right, we had a private room, there was air conditioning, and the room locked. Worked for me.

After cleaning up a little, we decided to take a nice walk around Rome. We were not really sure where we were, so we ended up walking to the Colosseum. It was incredible to see such an ancient thing in the middle of a modern city. Only thinking back do I really see how crazy that was. It was too late to go inside, so we just walked around before deciding to go eat dinner at a nearby ristorante. Our waiter was just crazy and kept saying “OHHHHH yes!” whenever we asked for anything. And we were too cheap to pay for another water bottle, so I had to run across the road and fill it up from a fountain in the middle of dinner. Hahahaha. :)

We went over to see the Trevi Fountain since we had heard it was pretty at night. And it really was! But there were about a million people there. I threw one coin in (not knowing that 2 would mean I would fall in love, or I TOTALLY would have done that!) I don’t know if I was supposed to make a wish, but if I was I wished for gelato and so got it! Again. My first time getting it twice in one day. Strawberry this time. Yummy!

After the fountain, we made a trek back to our hostel. We wanted to be showered and well rested for our big day Saturday!

Saturday.

First of all, let me say that “sketchy” so defined our weekend in Rome. It all started with that broken train, and then the hostel, and then every single thing that happened on Saturday. Haha.

Anway, we got up early to get a good start on our only full day in Rome. We went and had our free breakfast at the hostel. It wasn’t a buffet or anything, but free food is always a good thing.

After breakfast we went to the train station, bought metro passes, and then rode over to Vatican City (where we spent almost our entire day). I can’t even describe the feeling of being there. I’m not even Catholic, and it was still an incredible experience for me. I mean, I was practically hanging with the Pope while I was there. Just kidding, but still. And I drank out of a fountain there. I’m assuming that it was considered holy water since it was in Vatican City. ;)

I went into St. Peter’s Basilica and looked around there for a while. I think I may have even had a religious experience in the prayer room. How could I not. Just seeing all of the Catholics and non-Catholics, even non-Christians, who are drawn to this place. It’s incredible. Can something that so inspires all of these people be a bad thing. Or only when it leads to bad things? Okay, no time for religious discussions now. This blog would be even longer then, and I think I’ve already written a novel.

I touched Jesus’ foot, saw a list of all the popes and their years of death, saw where parts of Angels and Demons takes place (woo, Dan Brown), and was divinely inspired… all before noon, too!

After being in the basilica for about an hour, we headed down to the catacombs. And I saw what I guess was the grave of or monument to Pope John Paul II. He was the pope for 27 years or so… my entire life until he passed away in 2005. I’m not Catholic, but I did like the guy and appreciated the chance to pay my respects.

After going down, we decided it was time to go up. We climbed 551 steps to the top of the cupola. That’s even more than we did at the Duomo. And I was in jeans and a modest top since we were at the Vatican. SO HOTTTTTTT. But I was pretty proud of myself for doing it and not even falling in my ghetto Old Navy flip flops. :)

I calculated that I burned off 551 million calories from that, so I was super ready for lunch. We grabbed a quick lunch and then went on the Vatican Museum. I can’t even describe everything that I saw. It would take forever, and I doubt it can be appreciated as much just hearing about it. But I will say that seeing the Sistine Chapel was amazing. It was nothing like I’d expected… I assumed it would have been round, but it was more rectangular. And I saw “Creation”… such a famous painting. On the ceiling. Where Michelangelo actually painted it. Wow. Magnificent.

We lost Jessica for a bit after that, but we recovered her and went back to the Vatican to buy rosaries. Although I’m not Catholic, I still bought a regular one and one to wear around my wrist. I mean, they were rosaries blessed by the Pope. That’s pretty awesome to have.

We took the metro over to the Spanish steps. They weren’t all that impressive, but I had no real expectations of them since I didn’t know what they were. Then we got some gelato to eat on the steps, making them much more awesome. I ordered bacio, which means kiss in English, and that resulted in the gelateria guy making me give him a kiss on the cheek for my gelato. I even pick up guys in gelaterias now! Oh, Italians.

We went across the street from the steps where all the amazing shopping is. Think of the huge expensive names, and they were there. Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Hermes, Prada, Fendi, etc. We actually went into Fendi and were ignored since we so weren’t going to buy anything. Lol.

We went home, got ready for a fun night out, and ate dinner across the street. Our waiter hit on me. This freaking blonde hair, I tell ya. We made up fake names for the night and stories to go with our names. I am Samantha, Kirk is Brian, Jessica is Amanda, Lauren is Autumn, and Sara is Kate. This story is just too long. And then we went on the SKETCHIEST BAR CRAWL EVER. Not worth describing, but it’s pretty funny if somebody wants to hear the story later.

We were home before 1 am. Nothing too crazy. We did have more of Rome to see the next day after all!

Sunday.

We woke up for another breakfast at our hostel. Exactly the same as Saturday and still sufficient. The cappuccino woke me up, at least! I changed into the same dress from Friday… It was just too hot to wear jeans, and we weren’t going anywhere with wardrobe requirements. We then checked out of our hostel, after rolling our room with toilet paper a little bit. I have no idea why except that we are pretty much rebels.

We went to the Termini to drop off our bags. It was too hot to carry extra bags all around Rome, for real! Finding this place was quite an experience, but it was all good after we dropped our stuff there.

Then we took a metro to make our return to the Colosseum and actually go inside. Well I went in with Lauren and Sara; Kirk and Jessica had been before and didn't want to pay 12 Euros (but they ended up having to pay the same amount anyway later to go into ancient Rome... which we got into with our Colosseum tickets. Poor guys!)

Again, this was one of those I know where I am but I can't fully register the significance of this place until afterwards things. I mean, who doesn't think of the Colosseum when they think of Rome? So much death there, and it it still one of the most iconic symbols of the city and its history. So naturally we took a lot of pictures. Oh, and we saw a ferocious cat that we assume was a descendent of the lions that used to fight there... or it was just a stray cat, but it was still amusing.

All the heat and walking made us hungry (as usual), so we stopped and got lunch at another random place. Then it was on to see ANCIENT ROME. That became one of our other most used phrases for the trip (along with sketchy, stairs, no air, etc.). We started using "Ancient Roman" as an adjective for things in Ancient Rome... or just for anything we felt like putting it in front. We had an Ancient Roman good time, too!

We lost Jessica when we left and didn't find her for about an hour. People, please don't turn your phones off when you leave your group in a huge and potentially dangerous city. UHH? She found us at the bag pickup, after Lauren and I paid 80 Euro cents to use the restroom there. Booo.

We got our stuff, grabbed some snacks, and got on an AIR CONDITIONED train. *Cue the angelic chorus* The ride back was significantly more comfortable thanks to that. And we just had fun recounting our trip and trying to be semi-productive in other ways.

I called my host mom Gianna to tell her we were on our way home, and it was my first complete Italian phone conversation. And I said what I needed to say and understood what she said. I just needed to brag about that, especially since my roommates always make me speak Italian to her and Paolo because I'm in a higher level.

We got to our train station (after almost getting off on the other side of Florence), and it was like coming home again! We took a bus to a plaza nearby and booked it back here for a little bit of free dinner. Oh, how I'd missed that when I was in Rome!

I tried to do stuff then like write my journal and my blog... and do that homework I'd neglected, but I just got the homework done before passing out. What a long weeekend, but what an incredible one!

MONDAY

This was my day of rest, and it was the most glorious day I could imagine. Okay, so that's a little bit of a stretch. But I was so exhausted from the weekend, all the walking, etc. that I didn't feel it would be a waste to come home after school and relax.

I had my yogurt, granola, and coffee for breakfast. Yay routines! And then I headed to school, rocking out on my iPod (which was just a perfect way to start the day!)

Class was, well, class. I've probably said the exact same thing before, but it's just always true! And we were learning passato remoto, a tense that I hated and just memorized long enough for tests back at Bama. I never thought I would need it again. Oops!

I went to lunch with Lauren, Kirk, Katie, Jessica, and Sara at a too expensive place where everybody but Lauren got gnocchi (potato dumpling things). I got pesto gnocchi, and it was delicious. But I am getting paninis for the rest of my time here so that I'm not broke when I get home!

Then I came home and tried to accomplish all the things I needed to. Fail. It mostly just meant frustratingly attempting to upload things on facebook. But at least my legs got a rest!

I was so happy to see Paolo again. I really miss him when I'm not here! Dinner was good and a little more intimate than usual. Matt was not back from Scotland, and the Russians and Austrians all left. So it was just Paolo and Gianna, Kansas girls, Bama girls, the Thai woman Katie, and a German guy named Mathias who lived with the family about 5 years ago.

Oh, and I ate fennel. I think that's how it's spelled at least. I've heard of it but never tried it before. It was really good, but part of that may have been because it was free and covered in cheese. Yummyyyyyy.

Then I went to sleep full and happy and slept the night away.

TUESDAY

Waking up was no fun, and I was almost late to school for the first time. My bad, but Gianna didn't put out breakfast until like 5 minutes before we normally leave. And I can't rush coffee and yogurt!

Class was not too terrible. Except we did have a test and this stupid conjugation exercise thing. I so forgot about that. Lol. But I got a 27/30 on the test... better than I was expecting, and I'm pretty proud since I'm in the hardest class of anybody from Bama.

After class, we just had time for a quick lunch before we had to be back at CLIDA. So I had my regular tomato and mozzarella sandwich and then went to meet up with my group in front of the school. And, surprise, Laura's group was coming with us too! That was really good because it always makes me feel less homesick when I get to see her. And we had to catch up since we hadn't seen each other since Thursday.

We walked to the station and got on a private charter bus which took us to Chianti. Specifically, we went to Castello di Verrazzano in Greve in Chianti. Long name. All that needs to be known about it is that it's a winery. And it took us a while to get up there, but the scenery was absolutely worth it. I want to grow grapes and cherries now.

We had a tour with an awesome guide named Gino (vino with a g). He told us about how wine is just an essential part of life for Italians. It is something which brings together enemies and strengthens friendships. He was all philosophical about it, and he was sincere and funny: my favorite kind of person. He made me enthusiastic about the experience.

I have never cared for the wine we've had at dinner or anything before, but after Gino taught us how to hold it, look at it, smell it, and taste it to fully appreciate the experience, I actually really liked it. Our wine tasting table included Kirk, Lauren, Ben, Laura, Sara, Dr. Picone, and me. It was the party table for real, and we had tons of fun. We tried three kinds of normal wine plus dessert wine and ate bread (well, other people ate prosciutto and wild boar salami, too. Ick!)

The bus ride home was great because Laura and I rocked out on my iPod just like old times. I am becoming obsessed with that thing!

And then Katie and Lauren joined us for dinner. The Kansas girls were at the cooking class, so we got to replace them for once. And it was awesome. Plus, to make up for that whole gelato incident from last week, we got chocolate chip and raspberry gelato with pineapple slices. Talk about making my life.

We were going to go out somewhere, but everybody was too tired after the whole wine tasting extravaganza. So it was another early night. Good day anyway, though.

WEDNESDAY

I was almost late again becuase of breakfast. But I took my time walking to school and jamming out with my iPod. I wanted to sing so badly... I miss being able to do that since I don't have that kind of privacy here... but I figured random people on the streets of Florence wouldn't want to hear me singing. Lol.

Since I was already in slacking mode, I just decided to write in my journal for all of class instead of even really trying to pay attention. It was a good call since we didn't really do anything too challenging. And I almost caught up on my journal!

We attempted to go with a big group of people to a Mexican restaurant, but it turns out it is only open for dinner. So I ended up going to get a quick lunch with Sara and Lauren before we went to look at the Bargello. I think that's how it's spelled, at least. It has a lot of art (ummm... since it's an art museum), and it was pretty cool. We almost missed the important room at the end with all the most famous works there (mostly sculptures by Michelangelo), though. Haha. We're special.

We had just eaten lunch but decided to go for gelato anyway. I had white chocolate, and it was soooo good. Sara didn't like it that much, but my taste buds gave it two thumbs up.

Then we went our separate way from Lauren and came home to do homework and relax a while before dinner. We ate dinner with the fam (minus Paolo.... boooooo) and then headed up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see a beautiful view of Florence. It was a hike to get up there, but it was worth it. I don't know if I would make it up during the day, though! But the view is so gorgeous that I'll probably try sometime before I leave.

It was Jessica, Sara, Lauren, Laura, her friend Destin, Ben, and me up there. We stayed out pretty late and enjoyed our time there a lot. Those are the kinds of experiences I want to remember when I get home. Hanging out on the steps of of a bronze version of the "David" in good company. :)

So that's all for now. I've written about everything except for today. I'll make another entry for that one since this is the longest entry EVER. Sorry about that. And super super super congratulations if you make it through. I don't expect anyone to, really. I'm doing this to remind myself of all the fun I've had here, too.

LOVEEEE!