Sono arrivata...back.

I'm back in the States.

Not sure what I want to say here yet...so I'll do it later.

TAKE THAT FINALS.

I just finished my fourth paper. Boo yah!

Italian written exam tomorrow and the show too. Yikes.

Most Exciting Update I've Made Thus Far!

I spent the weekend, and I mean the entire weekend, in the library writing papers. I got three of four done. Back in the library now working on the fourth. I will be here until rehearsal today.

Haha - sike.

Gli esami...

Exams are torture. What's worse about this is I only have four papers to write. Two of them for English, one for Comedy and one for Architecture. They're all really easy. It's just that I'm having a lot of trouble buckling down. Honestly, I have a lot of other stuff to be worrying about right now! For example, the fact that I will be traveling back to the States in a matter of five days its a slightly pressing issue. Then there is the play which is Wednesday AFTER my written Italian exam. I took my oral Italian exam today and am pretty sure I did really well. I also have to make sure I can fit everything into my suitcases to get home. I'm almost all packed and only essentially have the clothes I need for the rest of the time left out. There's also the issue of how much stuff is going to change within the matter of a day.

Coming here, I knew it was going to be a gradual process. Moving into a new house, meeting new people, eating different food, and living differently I knew would take time to adjust to. But going back it's going to be different. Everything at home is established already. I'm going home to people I know, friends that I've had for ages, frozen and fast food, and the same house that I left behind in RI. This also means leaving everything here behind. I have to say bye to my friends from the West Coast not knowing when I will ever see them again. That's pretty heavy stuff. I have to say bye to Franco, Barbara, and Tori who have been such an amazing family to live with. Tori's my little munchkin and I'm gonna miss tickling her every morning when I see her. I'm going to miss the fact that Franco would offer to do the "pound then explode" fist bump with me after we talked about my day. That stuff is all finished. I'm not returning to it like I am to everything in the States and that's really hard to wrap my head around.

So yes, I'm in the library right now with Laura and we're both doing exam things. I've got a good portion of my Comedy paper done and she's studying for her Nutrition final. We'll take a lunch break eventually. I've got the Freshmen farewell dinner tonight. Yay for more free food.

Hopefully I'll have three of the four papers finished by the end of tonight. I'm writing my architecture paper tomorrow with my TA. Then I will be officially done with stressing. I will have all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to prepare for the show with only a brief interruption for my written Italian final on Wednesday.

US of A: 5 Days.

Anyone know of a good place to get a new set of lungs?

Howdy doody y'all.

So, Monday proved to be a crazy day with classes and rehearsals and bad weather and the worsening of the rather dreadful cold that I seem to have contracted during the course of the last week or so.

Tuesday was the national holiday of the Immaculate Conception so we didn't have classes. I went to Mass with the host family and then met Liza back at school to keep working on our project for ETS. I then went with Merritt to film at Palazzo Pitti for the video as well. I stayed at school all day working on this project and also my project for Architecture. SO MUCH WORK. To complicate matters, I wasn't able to breathe due to my incessant hacking. My back was in a lot of pain because I was coughing so hard. I left at 6 with Liza to head to our Italian professor's house for an appertivo. We had wine, risotto, and some other little perfectly delectable things. I then proceeded to RUN home for dinner. I had no other option because my teacher is a little bit of what we like to call, a "ciaccierone"...or one who talks too much. So I ran for almost a half an hour to get home despite the fact that I couldn't breathe.

I was basically passing out at the dinner table so I ended being in bed by 8:55. I had a rather fitful sleep and resolved that I was going to pay a visit to the doctor.

Today was long because of the projects and presentations going on. I spent a lot of time with Beth and Steph today which was quite nice. I went to the doctor and he said there was nothing that he could tell that was wrong with me. But yet, he prescribed me three different things. I have already taken all three to start my dosage and I hope that this plague of sorts dissipates within the next few days.

I'm in rehearsal now. We have one week exactly until the performance. Things are getting pretty stressful. We have four sick cast members, a sick director, people who don't show up on time or at all for that matter and several characters that are still not off book. I just really want this to go well.

I'll be home in approximately 7 and a half days. The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations isn't going to know what hit it.

Peace out cub scouts.

Lazy Day...

Got up early this morning and went to church at Basilica di Santa Croce with the fam. We walked around the Christmas markets for a few minutes too. When we came back, Tori and I hung out until lunch time. We had a really nice lunch together and then I proceeded to sit in bed from around 4 til 7 watching Glee. It's a really funny show, as awful is it may be quality wise. I'm sitting in the kitchen with Tori now and we're just watching the Italian version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire. I'm pretty smart according to this country. Yesss.

I'm going ice skating tonight with Maddy, Laura, and Remi! WOOOO!

Crazy week coming up. The last three days of classes...MADONN!

CHEOWWWWWW.

Roaming around Firenze...

So, today was particularly delightful.

I met Liza at school to do some filming for our English project. Then we went to Paperback Exchange to sell back some books only to find out we could only get store credit. We started filming at the Duomo which was a lot of fun.

After that, we went back to school and then head to San Ambroggio for cheeseburgers! Love it. Perche No! was next for some gelato deliciousness. Tori, Rachel and I wandered around and had amazing time for the rest of the day.

We went to Esselunga for dinner and did our usual feast of cheapskates. I skyped with my Brothers which made my life!

I saw Ashley, Nikhil, Amanda, Ed, Ben, Brenna, Whitney, Meredith, Ben, Lucas, Bethany, Royce, Natalie, Tia, and a whole bunch of NIBS!

I'm watching Glee now. It's fantastic. Mass and lunch with the host family tomorrow :)

Man, I love Italy livin' but I can't wait to get home.

12 days...still.

Right...sooooooo about life.

Okay, I would like to reiterate my sincerest apologies for being an awful blogger as of late. Things are absolutely crazy right now.

So, backtracking to the weekend of November 6, 7, and 8. I went to Siena and San Gimignano with my Mediterranean City class on the sixth. They were both super cool. To see the Campo where the Palio is run was awesome. Kelly, Andrea, Tori, Jacque and I bought a bottle of wine, some bread, cheese, and lunch meat and sat directly in the middle of the Campo for lunch. A+ day. On Saturday I went FINALLY to go see the David. Good stuff. He's got athlete's foot. Just so y'all know. Nothing else too important.

During that week I had some rehearsals and signed up for classes. Nothing too special.

I went to Vicenza, Padova, and Venice on the 13th and 14th. Venice was absolutely surreal. I don't really have much to say about it other than that. It's one of those things you have to see for yourself - truly.

The next week was rehearsals, Rachel's show, The Dumb Waiter, which was a lot of fun, a lecture by the author Gabriella Kuruvilla, and some more rehearsals.

I went to Rome for Friday and half of Saturday. It was really nice to go back. The group I went with was awesome. I roomed with Laura, Lauren, and Maddy. They rock. We went out in Campo di Fiori. Kelly and Andrea were a blast to hang out with throughout the weekend.

A bunch of us took the early train back so that we could go to the Fiorentina Game! Italian soccer games are one of the craziest things I've ever experienced. It was so much fun.

This week got really insane. I had classes all day, then rehearsal, then soccer both Monday and Tuesday. Insanity. We came in second in the Soccer tournament!! Tuesday was even crazier because after our soccer game I went with Caitlyn, Remi, Schulyer, Maggie, Julie, and Alex to the AF Champions League game. Then after that we went down to Lion's Fountain to get our trophy...boy was it a late night. But I had my first Italian burrito which was AMAZING.

I skyped with Jenna on Wednesday which I really needed. I miss her TERRIBLY.

Thursday it was off to Dublin for a nice Irish Thanksgiving. Ireland is amazing as always. I traveled with Maggie, Aviva, and Rosa. Friday was spent sight-seeing in Dublin and visiting the Guinness Storehouse! I ran into Mickey, Kyla, and Anna which was super cool. We went to Gwendalough on Saturday which is out in the country to do some hiking - fantastic. I left Sunday afternoon to head back. I flew into Rome and then literally ran across the city to catch the train back to Florence.

This past week has been spent doing a lot of school work and rehearsing. I have also been fighting a pretty nasty cold that I got in Dublin so that's been taking a lot of energy as well.

Today I went to the Vasari Corridor which is, aside from being a "secret passage" taken by the Arch Duke from Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti, the biggest collection of self-portraits by famous artists. This isn't open to the public and in fact we were the second to last group to go in there before 2015. The paintings in there aren't even catalogued...it was insanity.

That's all the factual stuff for the month of November. Rehearsals for the Importance of Being Earnest are going well. I'm off book at this point which is really awesome. It feels like it's realyl coming along. I have an awesome cast to work with and that's making all the difference. I'm going to be spending the rest of this weekend working on projects and papers.

I think I'll be going to the Fiorentina Game on Sunday which is really cool. Total of three!! They were really super fun. The fans are insane. There's everything from huge flags to flares and pushing and shoving, amicably of course.

My time in Florence is winding down and I can't wait to make the most of the rest of it.

United States of America: 13 days.

Sono viva...

Hi all.

I'm alive and heartily apologize for lack of an update on my life since November 12th. I'm currently doing a lot of homework and will work on a full-length blog update for the near future.

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You:

Siena and San Gimignano

Venice

Rome

Dublin

Two Fiorentina Games

Importance of Being Earnest Rehearsals

Soccer Tournament

Nights Out

General Update

Stay tuned!

Today, the last day of November, I will start my countdown for gli Stati Uniti: 18 days.

FALL BREAK! - 5

Fall Break, Part V: London, Florence and Epilogue. November 1^st and 2^nd.

We took the tube home and then met up with Jill and Megan at Shakespeare’s for drinks. London is fantastic. I know I’ve said it before but it needed to be reiterated.

We were up early the next morning to go to the changing of the Guard but it got cancelled due to inclement weather. Yes, that means we stood in a downpour for an hour before they decided to cancel it. I headed back to Mickey’s to work on my architecture presentation. I Skyped with my parents right before leaving which was nice. Saying bye to Rachel was tough because I won’t see her until January but I get to see Carolyn in Dublin in three weeks so I was over that!

Aviva and I headed out to catch our bus. We got slightly turned around which stunk. When we finally found our bus, we found out it was broken down and we were waiting for another one. Once the other one showed up, everyone was loaded on and then the driver broke the back window so we couldn’t use this one either. We all had to resort to paying cash to get on a National Express bus to catch our flights. So many people lost their flights or couldn’t pay because they only had cards. EasyBus has lost my business from here on out.

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to have ten pounds on me that I lent to a guy by the name of Jacob so that he and his friend could make it to the airport. They couldn’t pay me back and didn’t have time to get to the ATM when they got to the airport so they asked for my information so that they could contact me later. It reminded me a little of what Isabella did for me on my way back from London just two weeks before.

We made our flight on time and grabbed some Starbucks sandwiches for dinner. Our flight was fine and then we took a bus back from Pisa to Florence. It was all-in-all a fantastic return journey.

This break was definitely the experience of a lifetime. I’m really glad that I was with a group of girls who were all about immersion in the cultures that we were visiting. I saw much stuff, ate so much great food, laughed so hard, saw so many good friends, and really just had an amazing time.

Thank you to those who helped make the Break awesome. Thanks first and foremost to the girls! Aviva, Mick, Rach, Dana, Megan, and Jo – you guys made the Break for me and I can’t imagine having gone any better! Thanks to Rich, our travel agent in London, who set us up with really cheap places to stay but in GREAT locations and modes of transportation! Uncle Leon, thanks for the tips along the way! Mom and Dad, thanks for the cash-ola. Katie, thank you for pestering me to post this. Thank you to all of you who have read this faithfully and are continuing to follow me through my semester abroad. It means more than you know!

Now it’s off to Venice for the weekend!

FALL BREAK! - 4

Fall Break, Part IV: Prague/Praha. October 29^th, 30^th, and 31^st.

We had breakfast at our hostel and tried to plan out what we wanted to do for the day. We were essentially lost because for the other two cities we had had the guidebooks that Megan was able to check out from the SUL library. Someone had gotten the Prague one before she could though, so we were at a loss for where to start!

We decided to head down to the Old Town Square to find the Free Tour. Free Tour is this really cool initiative that college students started to give Tip-Only tours in major cities around the world. It’s really a great thing. So, we met up with our tour guide, Justin, and then made our way around Prague. The history of the city is INCREDIBLE. The poor Czechs have got the shaft end of everything and only been a free people for 20 years now. In fact, I think it was 20 years ago last week. Read up on the Czech Republic if you don’t know much about it.

Our tour took us through the Old Town, New Town, Wenceslaus Square, the Astrological Clock, the Jewish Quarter, examples of Kubism architecture, St. James’s Church (which I will explain in more detail later) and then showed us across the Charles Bridge to the Prague Castle. While we were in Wenceslaus Square, I heard someone shout out, “Emily, over here!” It was Viviana. Her, Kelsey and Julia were in Prague too! It was so funny. We kept running into them for the rest of the day too!

We also saw them at Bohemia Bagel while we were getting lunch. Bohemia Bagel is by far one of the best bagel places on the planet. Although, it may only seem that way to me because I haven’t had bagel since I left the States…Yikes.

Once the tour was done, we went back to the Jewish Quarter to do the museums and see the Synagogues there. The Jewish cemetery is incredible. You need to really Google this. I can’t even describe it. Especially you, Dad, you’ll really enjoy it. It was a historical afternoon and was really worth it.

After that we stopped at this place called the Bake Shop and treated ourselves to cookies, cupcakes, and hot chocolate. It was delicious! Trying to find our way back to the hostel, we walked in a circle even though our hostel was almost right next door to where we were. Super funny!

Once we finally made it back to the hostel, everyone showered and got ourselves together for the fun night ahead. We had decided to go to the traditional Czech restaurant right next door to the hostel. They really didn’t speak any English and didn’t have an English menu. We tried communicating to the waitress that we wanted tap water and she immediately went and got her manager who spoke really broken English. She was super sweet though and basically explained the entire menu to us. We told her that we were there for the experience and it was okay if we ate Czech food – that was the point. So, after a really filling dinner, we set out to do the infamous Prague Bar Crawl. It was a fun night that took us to five different bars and clubs. It was really inexpensive and a definite quality experience.

Friday morning we all slept in and decided to make the Museum of Communism our first stop. Uncle Leon said that the place was intense as well as, “tongue-in-cheek” and it was indeed. I really appreciated the opportunity I had, in all three countries, to really dive into the history the culture and people.

We went to lunch at Bohemia again but this time we ran into girls from the SU Florence program! Kari called me out from across the restaurant and she was sitting with Stacy and Monica. We killed some time there and then headed off to meet up for the Prague Castle tour.

This one we had to pay for. We got to the meeting spot and then Remi and Cameron showed up! Those two are also SUF students. This world is too small. Anyhow, the tour took FOREVER. I think it was 4 hours long or something ridiculous like that. The Castle is HUGE. It was absolutely freezing and I am not usually one to admit that I’m cold or that it is cold outside. The tour was really informative and was indeed fun.

Immediately after it was over, we set out to find some hot beverages. We found Au Gourmand and got some hot chocolate, ice cream, and hot wine. We were just trying to kill time at that point. Then we went back to Molly Malone’s to get our t-shirts from the Bar Crawl. We sat there and just hung out for a while which was really nice.

For dinner we tried going back to our first restaurant but it was booked so we went to another little place around the corner. They put the six of us in a back room away from all the Czechs. It was really weird. Our waitress’s name was Staina. She was so adorable. She was scared that she wouldn’t be able to serve us to the best of her ability because she didn’t speak great English. We told her it was fine and she smiled the biggest smile I have ever seen. She was a very animated character and actually sat and talked with us for a while once we were done eating. The food and beer were fantastic!

We went back to the hostel and really had to rally ourselves in order to go out. We were all really tired but decided that we couldn’t let our last night of Fall Break go to waste. So, we ended up getting our lazy selves together and heading out to Karlovy Lazne which is Prague’s infamous 5-story club. There were four different music floors and a lounge floor. We spent time on all four just letting loose. It was so much fun. We were all there in sweaters or turtlenecks because it’s all we had left for clothes and it was freezing outside! Short and sweet of it was that we had a blast and were back to the hostel by 3.

We were up at 9am and had breakfast before we checked out. We went to watch the Astrological Clock go off. It was very anti-climactic but we knew that going into the experience so it just ended up being funny to watch the other tourists become incredibly disappointed once the bell stopped ringing.

Then it was off to the Church of St. James. We also called this Shriv Church. You see, there is a shriveled, mummified arm hanging from the ceiling in the church. Legend has it that there was a robber who went in to take a gold necklace from around Mary’s neck. She came to life and grabbed his arm and wouldn’t let go. When the priest found the robber in the morning, he couldn’t pry the arm from Mary’s grip so they had to cut his arm off. His arm is still hanging there today to ward off anyone who has any foul thoughts coming into the church. There is really a human arm hanging from the ceiling. Anyway, we endearingly called this, The Shriv.

From there we headed off to actually cross the Charles Bridge. There are a lot of statues and monuments on the bridge and it was packed with tourists so we didn’t stay long. We headed towards the John Lennon wall which is the only place in the city where graffiti is allowed. It’s a really cool spot. I signed it with, “Emily Allen 10-31-09 Let it Be”. It was an awesome experience.

We found a café for hot chocolate, coffee, and hot wine and sat there for a while. We still had three hours to kill until we had to leave to find the airport. So we just wandered around looking in different little shops and things. Then, of course, headed back to Bohemia bagel for lunch and snacks for the road, and a Halloween treat.

We went back to the hostel to grab our stuff and then took a train and bus to get to the airport. We were an hour and a half early, which I really appreciated. Megan fell asleep and ended up leaning on me so I had to legitimately hold her up. It was quite entertaining. Our flight was delightful. We sat six across in a row and just took some time to rest and reflect on our awesome week. Touchdown in London town – no problem.

FALL BREAK! - 3

Fall Break, Part III: The Rest of Vienna. October 26^th, 27^th, and 28^th.

Our day on Monday started off quite hysterically. I woke up to my keys sticking in my back because I had somehow managed to fall asleep on them – Dana had flooded the bathroom – our roommates were a bunch of goofballs that we couldn’t seem to figure out – and ultimately, I think we were all just still super tired. We had breakfast downstairs in the hostel with a kid named Melvin from Amsterdam and a former Peace Corps volunteer who spent two years in Niger.

First stop was St. Stephen’s Cathedral. We climbed the tower and Joanna, Megan and I decided to make our climb down easier by singing songs from the Sound of Music, which is clearly what you do when you’re in Austria! Needless to say, the others weren’t to pleased with us. At any rate, we continued on to the main shopping street in the city. From there we landed ourselves at the Hofburg Palace.

Inside the Hofburg, we went to go see the Imperial apartments, the silver and china collections, and learn about the history of the Hofburgs in Vienna. Those are some great stories if anyone is interested in reading some good non-fiction.

We also ran into Kelsey Weimer, Viviana Quevedo, and Julia Ruskin who are all also studying in London this semester. It was good to see them! As we continued on into the center courtyard, we discovered that we had landed ourselves in the middle of yet another National Holiday – Proclamation Day. It was when Austria and Hungary split for good. I’m going to assume it was along the same lines as Budapest’s reason for celebrating then…? Right, makes sense. It was a huge carnival type of celebration in the middle of this palace. We tried all of the local delicacies such as bratwurst, schnitzel, beer, and this really sweet meringue pastry.

We headed off to the Ring Strasse from there. We were all really giddy so it was quite an interesting. There was a Free Hugs girl outside the palace so I of course gave her one. If you’re not sure what I mean about the Free Hugs thing, you can either check my Facebook for the picture or Google it. It’s a really cool campaign. Another thing for instance, was that I saw a store that was called, “Frey Wille”, so immediately pointed and shouted out, “FREE WILLY!” I think we all almost fell over laughing. Not too long after that, we almost got trampled by a horse and buggy that just appeared out of nowhere. Oh, Vienna.

We made it to the Opera House in the Ring Strasse and discovered that Swan Lake was being broadcast LIVE onto the screen outside from what was happening inside. So, we sat out in the rain and watched the Viennese Ballet perform Swan Lake. That’s pretty cool.

After that we headed off to the Leopold Museum. There was an exhibit by the guy, Munch, that made The Scream. It was really cool to see! From there went to Parliament and the Town Hall. They were both really gorgeous buildings and were even more awesome because they were illuminated at night! We took all of the touristy pictures as was necessary.

We went back to the hostel to recuperate and then rally for the rest of the night. We went to go have dinner at a restaurant on the corner and then went back to the Wom-Bar for drinks and staying in for the evening. Some great conversation ensued as we had some beers, wine, and other drinks. It was nice just to relax with them and have a good time.

Tuesday started off with breakfast at the hostel and then the Belvedere Palace. We didn’t go inside but the gardens were a sight enough to see. After that we went to Karlsplatz to see the church that was built in thanks for delivering Vienna from the plague. Only Carolyn and Rach went in and the rest of us stayed outside and chilled at the fountain. On our way to find the market for lunch and the Secession Building, we ran into the Liberation monument which was also partly a fountain. I faked throwing Aviva and Dana in which was quite entertaining. We found the outdoor market for lunch and all ate quite well indeed.

Next was the Schonbrunn Palace which was the summer home of the Hofburgs. It was unbelievably gorgeous. We took a tour there as well. Inside the Palace were the following two rooms: where Mozart held his first concert at the age of six and where JFK and Khrushchev met for the Vienna Summit. That’s amazing stuff. The gardens here were unreal. We climbed to the top and had a better than postcard view of the city of Vienna. It was breathtaking. We got some great pictures there.

We went back to the hostel after that because we were all exhausted. We just took some time to relax before we went out for dinner. We went to 7 Stern Brau for dinner, which is like a Viennese Beer Hall. It had a really awesome atmosphere. I had Viennese potato goulash and Wiener Helles, which is a Viennese beer – cheap too! We were all exhausted and in bed by 11.

Wednesday was an early day. We had to check out and also wanted to head up to the opposite side of the city to see the Danube. We took the metro and found ourselves at, what was essentially, an amusement park! It was called Praterplatz. Aviva and I rode the Dizzy Mouse, which was our favorite one at Oktoberfest, and then I did my first open air steel coaster! It was awesome! Rachel, Megan, Aviva, and Dana did it with me!

We took the metro back to Stephansplatz and went to Demel for cake and coffee. Demel is where Empress Sisi used to pass her time. It was her favorite café. We each made sure to get a different type of cake so we could sample everything. We all basically got different types of coffee or hot chocolate too! I got the Irish coffee and the house cake. Those, if I do say so myself, were very good decisions on my part.

We took the tube back to the hostel and then unfortunately said goodbye to Jo because she wasn’t spending the rest of break with us. Our train to Prague left at six! On the train we listed all the presidents, all the states, and all the capitals. Those are some great time killers if you need them! I loved that train ride J We got in at 9:30, had to find our hostel despite there not being any English ANYWHERE! The hostel was a little sketchy and we couldn’t find anywhere for dinner except this guy that was closing down his pizza shop. We all crashed pretty much when we got back. The rest is tomorrow!

FALL BREAK! - 2

Fall Break, Part II: The Rest of Budapest and beginning of Vienna. October 24^th and 25^th.

To start the day off right on Saturday, we went to the Farmer’s Market across from our hostel. It was incredibly large. So much cool stuff to see! From there we were off to climb Castle Hill. Castle Hill overlooks both sides of the city and is a memorial to the country’s liberty. It had some amazing views. At the top of the hill was a medieval fort and there I had the opportunity to shoot a bow and arrow – so I did. I’m as good as Robin Hood.

After that, we took the funicular up to the Castle and National Gallery. That was a rather short trip. After that we went back across the river to go see Parliament. It was a really great example of Gothic Architecture. It was also Hungary’s National holiday so there were tons of people around.

Next on the list was a boat cruise down the Danube River. It was one of the funniest things I have ever experienced. There were two narrators, one for Buda and one for Pest. They would fight and exchange witty banter while trying to explain the history of the city. We couldn’t stop laughing. With the purchase of the ticket for the tour came a free drink and a free tour of St. Margaret’s Island, which is in the middle of the Danube. That was really fun.

From there we headed to the train station to check-in for the next day. We took the tram back to the hostel and rested for a while and got ready for dinner. Our tour guide, Anna, had recommended this place called A38 which was an old cargo boat, still on the river, that was transformed into a restaurant upstairs and techno club downstairs. It was quite the place. Our food was really good!

After we were done eating we were going to head downstairs and then Justin showed up! Justin is one of my best friends from school and was visiting Budapest at the same time we were! It was so awesome to see him. I missed him so much.

The club downstairs was a ton of fun and we were basically the only people there. I had a dance-off with some sketchy Hungarian guy but it was totally worth it J We headed home not long after that and all slept really well.

The next morning we realized that we had forgotten about daylight savings time and were ready and rearing to go at 8 instead of 9! Haha, funny stuff. Anyhow, we found Coffee Heaven, which is essentially the Starbucks of Hungary. From there we took the metro to Hosof Ter to see Heroes Park and monument.

We walked down the main street to the House of Terror which is a museum focusing on the communist occupation of Hungary. It was really intense and really informative. We saw Sam Buchbauer there who is another friend from school who is studying in Strasbourg.

After that was the Opera house, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and the Jewish Quarter. We went to the 2^nd largest Synagogue in the world and the largest in Europe. It was thoroughly impressive. We went to a restaurant in the Jewish Quarter, had some kosher food and then headed back to the hostel to get our stuff and head out for Vienna.

Our train ride was a lot of fun. We had to split up into different cabins but that’s fine. Our hostel, the Wombat, was right next to the train station and PHENOMENAL. It was clean, secure, friendly, and just downright amazing. They directed us in the direction of a place that had good food and would give us a discount because we were staying at the Wombat. The name of it was Mozart-Stube. I got turkey with rice and peas and Viennese beer. I was a happy camper. We all went to bed promptly upon our return to the hostel.

FALL BREAK!

So it begins,

Fall Break, Part I: Getting to London and Budapest. October 22^nd and 23^rd.

So yeah, I was done with midterms and leaving school by 4:45 and somehow managed to be packed, showered and at the bus stop on my way to catch the train from Santa Maria Novella by 5:45 – insanity. I met up with Aviva and Catherine there. It’s so much more fun to travel with people as opposed to alone! We got to the airport just fine and our flight went off without a hitch!

When we landed at Stansted, it took an hour to get through customs and then Aviva and I finally got our National Express bus to Baker Street. From there we caught a cab to Carolyn and Rach’s apartment. The cab driver was awesome. Cabs are an interesting part of London life. In London, being a cab driver is the third highest degree that you can graduate from University with. They go to school for at the least, seven years. It’s ridiculous.

Anyhow, upon arrival at Mickey’s at around 2am, we stayed up for a while and just talked and laughed. We slept for 2 and a half hours and then caught the tube and EasyBus to get to Gatwick. We had an AWESOME American-esque breakfast and then caught our flight. The flight was fine except for the fact that I had the most awful ear pain that I have had to date on this particular flight. My hearing wasn’t fully restored until the next day. Absolutely wretched.

I almost forgot to mention our travel group. It was Aviva, Carolyn McChesney, Rachel Brenner, Dana Manochi, Megan Hess, and I. Other than Aviva and I, the other girls are Syracuse University students at SU in London!

When we landed in Budapest, Hungary, it was one of the most overwhelming experiences I have had. The language is impossible to decipher. We found someone who spoke English and let us know how to get to our hostel. We took a bus to the metro and then the metro to Kalvin Ter, which is one of the main streets of Budapest. It was completely deserted when we came up from the metro station. It was rather creepy actually. There was almost no one around. We spent a good ten minutes trying to figure out where we were on the map and consequently in relation to our hostel.

We finally figured out that we were on the Pest of Budapest and we were staying at a pretty great location in the city. We all basically collapsed in our OWN ROOM! at the hostel. It was fantastic. Joanna Hardy, who is studying in Strasbourg, joined us as well! Heck of a group. From there we went out to dinner at this really authentic Hungarian restaurant. I had cream of garlic soup, stuffed turkey with cinnamon and cheese, and Hungarian beer. The currency in Budapest is really odd. Just as an example, we spent 23,614 HUF on dinner. That’s the equivalent of about 84 euro, I think.

After dinner we just went to walk around the Buda side of the city, which was really nice. We just walked along the river and relaxed. Parliament looked really cool because it was illuminated with red, white, and green –the colors of Hungary. All the bridges and Castle Hill looked so majestic. I knew it was going to be a fun city. After our walk we were all really cracked out so we just hit the sheets.

Part II tomorrow, stay tuned.

A Firenze.

Sorry about the lack of updates. I have been busy this week with rehearsal, classes, getting myself back on my feet, and preparing for next semester.

I stayed in Florence this weekend. It was super nice to relax. My host brother is back in town for a week of R&R from his military work. I went to Siena and San Gimignano on Friday with my Mediterranean City Architecture class. Good times. I saw the David yesterday finally! Did some shopping in San Lorenzo. Jacque and made a fantastic makeshift dinner at school that we pieced together from Esselunga. Ah...

I still haven't updated from Fall Break simply because I am scared of how long it is going to be and how long it is going to take me to type it all out!

I am going to now go and type up a blog for Fall Break and then post it in segments throughout the next week.

Sheer Chaos.

The past two weeks have been insane.

This is going to serve as a temporary post.

I had mid-terms last week and that was stressful in addition to finding out THURSDAY AFTERNOON when I'm leaving for fall break that I have a presentation due at 8:45 am on site at the Bargello the Monday when we get back.

As far as posting for break goes, I've decided to do one every day until i I run out of cities!!

Look for intro to fall break and Budapest tomorrow!!

Mind the gap.

I know this is long but I promised you it's a really good entry and for those of you with mid-terms coming up, I know you're looking for something to procrastinate with.

My trip to London was beyond unbelievable. I had one of the best times of my life in that city. You should all go visit if you have an ample opportunity.

My journey started out very early, 5:30am to be precise, on Friday morning. The train that I had planned on taking had been cancelled so I was scurrying around trying to get on the right one. After four different trains, I finally ended up in Pisa. Ironically enough, my random Roger Williams roommates from Oktoberfest were on the same plane to Stansted. My flight to Stansted was great and the bus from Stansted to London Centre was quick and painless.

My first stop was to see Carolyn and Rachel! I had my first ride on the tube from Baker Street to go see them. The tube is SO CLEAN, ORGANIZED, AND USER FRIENDLY! I couldn't believe it. It's incredibly efficient and economical if you have an Oyster Card. An Oyster Card is essentially a frequent traveler thing. At any rate, I ran across the street to see them but forgot that you have to look the opposite way in London and nearly gave the two of them a heart attack. It was funny. I can't even begin to describe how awesome it felt to be back with them. I hung out with Carolyn for a while and then headed over to Megan, Kaitlin, Ari, Dana, Bettina, Sam, and Harris's flat.

When I got off the tube my phone wasn't working. I just began to walk and then I looked across the street and there was a yellow North Face that I recognized in an instant. It was Hillary and Sierra! They were staying at the flat that I was going to visit so we walked back together. On the way we encountered Megan. I ran up behind her and scared her halfway to China. Awesome.

When we got back to the flat they made me tell them all about Florence and everything. It was fantastic to see them. Everything was back to normal - resumed right from where we all left off. I missed my friends so much. I was there for a while just hanging out and then I left to go to Megan Ranquist's to see her Molly and Becky. It was so great to catch up with them too!! Their flat has a remarkable view of the city because it's a pent house. I was there for about an hour and then headed back to have Chinese with Mickey, Stephanie, Jessie, and Jill. From there I went to go to Erin's flat where I was staying the night.

She jumped on me when she saw me. It was so funny. I got to see Alex which was cool too.We caught up for a good part of the night and then I needed to go to bed because I was exhausted. We slept in on Saturday morning because we were both exhausted. We went next door to see Kelsey, Julia, and Sam and talked to them for a bit. Next, we mapped out a route to get to Clifford Street to meet up with my dad's friend Scott Burns.

Mr. Burns had offered to take myself and a friend out for lunch since he lives and works in London. The office that he works in is a hybrid of a new building and an old one which was really cool to see! He took us through an arcade that was built for the wife of a duke, I believe, so that she and her friends could shop safely. The things for sale in there were insane. There was leather, tons of jewelry, and a lot of other fancy things.

We had reservations at this restaurant called the Fountain Restaurant inside a building called Fortnum & Mason. It was SO GOOD! Mr. Burns and I got a cup of Onion Soup with a Haddock Omelette which may sound strange, but it was marvelous. Erin got a salad and salmon which was apparently very delicious as well. For dessert we got a Treacle Tart and Sticky Pudding - two English classics. Everything was beyond delectable. It was really quite nice to be able to meet up with one of my dad's friends. We talked alot about my dad and had a lot of other stimulating conversations about the difference between London and the States, taxi things, food, college life, and an assortment of other things. It was an incredible dining experience to say the least.

From there, Erin and I took off for Buckingham Palace, St. James Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Parliament. To get there we took a double decker! So much fun! There's nothing special about them at all except they are the things on all of the postcards :) The Thames is cool to look up and down because it's so big! So, I took all of the typical touristy pictures and even one in a red phone booth! Bahaha.

On the way back we went through Victoria Station and I bought a Starbuck's - sorry, had to. I wanted to go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum but Erin didn't so I ventured to 221B Baker Street on my own. So. Worth. It. I can't believe how much of a dork I am. I loved every second of being in this complete fantasy world of Holmes and Watson. The house was recreated just as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had described it. There were wax figures of characters from the stories and all of Holmes's old "belongings" and "letters". I had a blast. I even took a picture in his chair with the pipe and hat!

I headed back to shower at Erin's and then her and I went to go get dinner at the Duke of York where apparently the kids in her flat are regulars. I got Fish&Chips and a cider. Classic. We had some awesome conversation over dinner for sure.

I went out to meet up with Ari. Him and I were going to go to a club then meet up with everyone else for Becca's birthday at Megan, Molly, and Becky's flat. We had such an awesome time together! I really missed him! Anyway, the party was a lot of fun as well. After that, a group of 10 of us went to Piccadilly Circus to go to another club called On Anon. There were an exorbitant amount of people there. It was rather insane. We stayed for our money's worth and then headed out. I decided to just crash at Ari's because I wasn't sure exactly how to get back to Erin's and the tube was closed.

I got up early in the morning and then headed back to Erin's. Her and I figured out a plan and then I went to go hang out with Rachel for a while. I missed her and our conversations. We just sat and talked for a good two hours. I gave Mickey her 21st Birthday cards!! (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!) Unfortunately, I had to leave London so I departed for Victoria Station to meet up with Erin for lunch. I got my ticket for the Gatwick Express and headed out to the airport at 3:30.

I arrived at Gatwick at 4 only to discover that I had somehow booked my flight for the day before. Yepp. Genius, right? I triple-checked the information wrong is the worst part. Amidst a lot of craziness and running around, I got myself a ticket to Milan. The only problem with that was that there weren't trains running from Milan to Florence after 8:30pm. I didn't get into Malpensa, which is an hour outside the city center, til 9. I figured I would just stay in the station overnight. It's not too bad, people have done it before. Anyway, while on the plane I asked the people next to me if they knew how to get the center. The woman at the end of my row said I could just follow her down there. I was super grateful for that.

For this part of the story, I'm going to leave out a lot of details for readability purposes. Once I got on the bus with her we began talking about a whole bunch of stuff. Oh, might I add that she was an Italian that spoke English :) At any rate, we are almost to the center when she turns to me and says that she doesn't feel comfortable with me staying in the station and that I could stay with her but her house was too small. Therefore, her boyfriend, Fabio, was on his way to pick us up at the station and they were going to find me a hotel for the night and pay for it. I was in shock. I didn't know what to do. I was beside myself. They were beyond kind to me and I don't know how to thank them, still.

So I spent the night in Milan and caught the 6:30 train to Santa Maria Novella. We arrived at 8:39 and I was in class at 9:01. Nothing can describe this weekend - especially the end. Nothing.

I absolutely love London, my friends, and the fact that I now know that there are good people in this world here and there.

Thank you to my friends in London who were so hospitable, Mr. Burns, my parents, and Isabella and Fabio, for making this weekend one of the best in my life.

Now for mid-terms...

A Londra!!

It's off to London with me in approximately seven and a half hours!

Wednesday was an okay day. Had a little jam session which definitely turned things around.

Today was good. Got a lot done. Found out that I got the lead role in the Importance of Being Earnest. My part is Jack. I'm really excited. Lots of work to do though!

I'm staying with Erin this weekend in London. I get to see Hil, Kait, Ari, Erin, Meg, Mick, Rach, Meg...soo many people I can't even list them all. BUT KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU ALL :)

Mid-terms next week. I'm not stressing either which is good.

I'm half way done with abroad almost. Craziness.

Livestrong.

Cheers!

It's finally getting colder!!!

WOOO!

Okay, I know I've been slacking with an update for two days but that's because there's not much to write about.

Sunday was a good day. I woke up, did some homework and then had an awesome lunch with the family. Tori and I are getting really close. I've begun to help her with her English homework at night too. Things are great with them.

After that I headed off to Palazzo Davanzatti for the performance of A Florentine Tragedy. It was awesome. I was an usher for both ushers. Rachel and Schulyer were running tech. It was great to hang out with them.

I stayed at school til late on Sunday night to do homework and talk to people.

Yesterday was an okay day for classes. I had rehearsal which was nice and then headed home for dinner and homework.

Today I've got classes, a meeting with a teacher for a project, and rehearsal again. After dinner I'm going out with Liza, Jacq, and Rach to see Fame. Woop.

The weather is sooooo nice. It's 65 and gorgeously sunny. I woke up with such a big smile on my face because of it.

WOOOOOOO!

I'M GOING TO LONDON ON THURSDAY!!! I get to see everyone and I am SO EXCITED.

Questa e' tutto.

I am not climbing that mountain. I mean it.

So last night I went home and had dinner and then promptly went to bed.

It was an early morning as we headed off for Assisi and Gubbio. It was a lot of walking. We didn't get to really see much in either place. It was raining and we were rushed. Booooooo.

Just got back to school. Going to Edi's with Adam, Aviva, Jacque, and Rosa. Then probably Chip and Chad's for the rest of the night.

Tomorrow is a homework day and going to see the David. Then I'm ushering for A Florentine Tragedy at 4 and 6. Then who knows...

LONDON NEXT WEEKEND.

Otto climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

No - really, he did. I carried him all the way up to the top.

ANYWAY - REWIND. The rest of Wednesday and Thursday were utterly boring. There you have it.

I went out Thursday night to Savonarola and played soccer with Jacque, Laura, Maggie, and a few Italian / Morrocan guys. That's about it.

Today, we went to Pisa and Lucca. They were both relatively boring. I did get quite involved with the discussion with Alick which made it a little bit more interesting. Aviva, Laura, Maddie, and Tori were all there today with me so it wasn't so bad. Good times. We were just all so tired!!

Anyway - pictures will be on Facebook soonish.

Assisi and Gubbio tomorrow.

MISS EVERYONE AT HOME!!!

"Did you need to be saved just then?"

So. Tuesday was the same old routine of boring classes. We had a special theater workshop with a troupe from England. It was awesome. After that there was a guest lecturer from Joel Kaplan, an Oscar Wilde expert. Dinner was a good time as always. We played the game with the letter V. Not too many words with that letter for the game.

I went out last night with Liza, Rachel, Laura, and Kira to Lion's Fountain for the soccer awards thing. We all got medals. It was really cool. There was a guy there that was being essentially hung on by this drunk girl. So after that, Laura went up to the guy and asked him if he needed to have been saved from that. It was quite hysterical. After that we went to this other bar where Tori was and our friend Amanda is a bar tender. It was a really relaxed night and just a good time.

Today my classes went well and I went to Sidi's for lunch with Jacque and Liza. Since then I've been doing some homework, OL stuff, and chilling with Beth.

I have a meeting about First Year stuff with Amy at 4 and then Forum at 440. Tonight I don't have much in store other than recharging my phone with Liza and heading home for dinner and bedtime.

Sono annoisa. Ciao.

They made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

I went to Sicily this weekend. For those of you who don't know the movie The Godfather, the title of this post comes from that movie - modified of course. Google it if you're still confused.

So meeting time on Friday morning was at 4a.m. in front of school. I therefore did not decide to sleep because I wasn't going to wake up. SO I went out. It was a good time.

I made it to school on time and passed out promptly after getting onto the bus. I slept all the way to the Pisa airport and then essentially the entire time we were waiting at the airport. Our RyanAir flight to Trapani was also not a memory of mine seeing as how I was unconscious for that as well. Arrival in Trapani was probably around 9:30 /10 am - I don't remember.

Anyhow, we headed up to the ancient city of Edice which is about 5,000 feet above sea level. Real high. It was pouring rain and we all got beyond soaked. We took refuge in a pastry shop and restaurant where we started out with really amazing cannolis and ricotta pastries before heading to the old Norman castle. After goofing off at the castle and taking tons of pictures, we headed back to the restaurant for lunch. The cous cous that we all got was REALLY good. I started hanging out with Maggie, Alex, Julie, and Laura which was super fun. They're crazy. I hurt my hip while jumping around everywhere in the rain - it was bound to happen eventually.

After that we headed off to Segesta which is an ancient temple and theater site. It was fantastically gorgeous. The theater area was flooded and while I was standing near the edge, Andrea decided to fake push me in. That was fun. I squeaked. Starr said I talked loud enough all the time anyway that I didn't need the acoustics from the theater to help me. Despite all that I still had a blast there.

We started out for Corleone (yes, for you Godfather buffs - Corleone) where our hotel was. The fields and the views were breathtaking. I felt like I was in an Italian trance. I roomed with Laura, Maddie, and Kate. Dinner was fun. We played stupid mind games and accidentally ate anchoives or sardines - we're not quite sure. I passed out as soon as I got to the room.

Saturday morning we were up really early. During breakfast we got a history on the Mafia and a current update from Professor Piombino. We then went to Cinesi to meet the brother of a guy named Peppino Impastoti who resisted the Mafia through public communication. It was intense.

From there we went to Monreale where there is this really, really, really old Cathedral and cloister. There were cool mosaics there. Other than that the CANNOLIS WERE THE BEST IN THE WORLD. I had two. Yepp, I'm a fattie. Whatever.

After that we went to the site of the 1947 Mafia massacre on the farmers of the Albanian village. There were three survivors who recounted their stories. It was really heavy stuff. It was weird to contrast the gorgeous landscapes with that horrible event.

We went to dinner at some really remote restaurant that was really good. Our waiter's name was Roberto. He was our age and really cool. It was great food and great wine. The guys who work on the farming cooperative that we were supposed to farm with offered to take us out for the night in Corleone so we accepted. I just kind of talked to them and practiced my Italian for a while. It's tough to talk to them because the Sicilian dialect is SO MUCH DIFFERENT than standard Italian. I went right to bed when I got back.

We had to be up at 6 to hit the road. We ate breakfast quickly and then went to the grape fields where we were supposed to form. It was gorgeous and the grapes looked so good. From there we headed to Palermo and me, Julie, Maggie, and Alex were singing the entire way probably ticking off everyone on the bus - but that's okay.

We saw a bunch of old churches and building things that really don't have too much significance to talk about. We had a really amazing lunch in Palermo at the second oldest restaurant in Italy called Antica Foccaceria San Francesco. They guy who owned it refused to pay the Mafia's protection fee and was therefore, literally, in mortal danger. He now has 5 Carabinieri - the equivalent of Secret Service - with him at all times to protect his life. The Mafia is still a big, big problem around here. I'll probably post on that later this week.

Our train left at 4pm. We had sleeper cabins. It was a really cool experience to take a train along the Sicilian coast. In order to get the train to the mainland the broke the cars apart and put them on a ferry and rejoined them on the other side. SO COOL. I roomed with Laura and Maddie. We slept and were woken up right as we were pulling into the station at 7am this morning.

Although the professor that I had class with at 9am was on the trip with us, class was not cancelled. So I was at school by 815am and proceeded to go about my daily routine. Classes were fine today. I chilled with Beth for a super long time. My theater workshop went well this evening as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read this obscenely long post!!!

You rock - all of you.

There is no skin on my knees or elbows.

Don't worry, it's not that bad. I am, if you're reading for the first time, the goalie for our school soccer team. The turf we play on is awful and I have henceforth destroyed my elbows and knees from making saves / diving for shots that I missed.

We were supposed to only have one game last and after our first one - a 5-0 loss to the best team in the league - we were informed we had a game at 815 as well. So we got all prepped for our 815 and then were told it was at 840. Heck of a good game which ended in a 4-3. I totally blew the last goal. The tournament was a TON of fun and the soccer team was the first place that I've made some pretty good friends here. We have an only girls tournament next week which I'm really looking forward to.

Classes for the end of the week went well. Liza, Merritt, and I are going to do a group project for Lit Travels and Prof. Nicholson informed me that I will probably be playing one of the more important roles in the Importance of Being Earnest.

I'm crazy excited. I'm heading out right now to meet people at Savonarola and then out to a bar somewhere.

I probably won't go to sleep tonight seeing as though I need to be at school at 4am to catch our bus to Sicily!! I will be gone until Monday night so don't check for an update...(Katie).

I'm super excited - as I said.

Hello to all of you reading this and to those who may be hearing about it.

I miss everyone at home dearly, just so you know!

To my 'Cuse buddies: Have a blast this weekend with Homecoming and wear some orange for me!

Vado!

Did you know orange juice fuels sparks?

I figured that out at dinner two nights ago. We had oranges for dessert and Barbara showed us that if you squeeze and orange peel over a candle it will send sparks flying everywhere. So awesome.

Yesterday was a good day. Went to the post office, Italian class, Lit Travels, and Comedy. Good stuff. I hung out with Kira before the game and then headed over with her, Mike, and Lauren.

We had a really intense against Vanderbilt. The first half was scoreless and we played really well. Second half got much more crazy. The game ended in a 2-2 tie with all of us bruised, scraped and battered.

Home for dinner. Out with Aviva for the evening and ended up hanging out with Tania as well.

Got home rather late.

Site visit for Mediterranean City Architecture this morning and then the LAC portion of Italian. We went to Esselunga today and bought a whole bunch of good stuff. We just ate throughout the entire class. I'm really glad I have Italian with Rachel and Liza - it's always so much fun. I don't think I'd make it through class every day if they weren't always goofing of and making me laugh with them. Yeah, I know I shouldn't be doing that in class but it's kind of necessary.

I have the Freshie Forum at 440 and then a game against Cal State at 6. It's going to be a really tough one.

Vi voglio bene.

VICTORY!!

I sat in the student life office for a solid 4 hours today.

Theater was fantastic this evening.

As far as soccer goes - I didn't play in the first game because I had theater. I showed up halfway through the second half and they were tied 2-2 and ended up losing 4-2 to Lorenzo de Medici. We won our second game against Florida State 3-0 ! Woooo shut out!! :)

Dinner was AMAZING tonight. It was just so much fun. Tori and I were goofing off the entire time. She is so funny. Everyone was just in a good mood.

Bed time! Long day tomorrow and another game!! Vanderbilt is going down.

Abbiamo vinto!

Champagne and Sandwiches - heck yes.

Dinner was fun Saturday night. We ate at Edi across the street and then went and got an after dinner drink in Savonarola.

I videochatted with Rachel and Amanda, called my Grandma for her 86th birthday and Katie just to say hey. Highlights of the day - seriously.

Got up early for the Corri di Vita and met Jacque, Rachel, Tori, and Lauren in the Piazza della Signorina. The walk was fun and gorgeous.

Jacque and I went and bought a bottle of champagne, some panini and then went and had lunch in the Piazza.

After that we headed back to school to catch up on our favorite T.V. shows, decided we were still hungry and bought cookies and gelato from the supermarket, Esselunga, and then proceeded to goof off and watch YouTube videos til dinner time. Ahhhh, good times. We got take out from Edi and then went home.

It was a really early night for me because I was exhausted.

Had two classes this morning and am currently chilling in the Student Life Office with Beth. I have my theater workshop at 5 and then soccer games at 6 and 640. Woop woop - go Orange!

There's basically just soccer this week that's out of the ordinary. I am going to Sicily this weekend for a trip with one of my classes. Should be good.

Ciao.

I'm king of the world!

So Friday was quite the day.

Like I said, I was heading off to the Duomo and other touristy things for the day. I met up with Jacque, Tori, and Catherine and we went into the Duomo and climbed the Cupola. The painting inside the Duomo is intense. We got to see it right up close. I put pictures on Facebook. The view was breath taking from up there. There is no other way to explain it. We spent a good half hour just standing up there staring out and proclaiming that we were "The King of the World!" to mock Jack from Titanic.

We then decided to get some lunch and head to the Uffizi to see the David, specifically. So we get halfway through the Uffizi, run into Rach who then proceeds to inform us that the David is in fact in the Academia and not the Uffizi. It was a really, really, intense moment. I wanted to fall to the ground laughing but I probably would have been kicked out.

Anyhow, Jacque and I still decided to make a try for it at the Academia and failed because it was closed already. Oh well, I live here - I can go whenever.

Went home, had another great dinner then Skyped with mom and Mickey.

Went to Ravenna today. It was okay. I wasn't honestly that impressed. Just a lot of old mosaics. Is it bad that I'm so desensitized to old stuff now?

Well, I'm waiting for the first years to get back from Siena then I'm doing dinner with them.

Corri di Vita Breast Cancer Walk tomorrow and then a wine tasting festival!

Spero che tutti a posto!

"Come se dice Swine Flu?"

I said it should be "l'influenze della porca" but my Italian professor thought otherwise.

At any rate, I went and bought the bike. It is glorious. Forum was the Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll talk. Amy asked me to speak about AIDS, so I did. Heavy stuff. Soccer practice was intense. I really can't believe we have four games next week - yikes. I went to bed right after dinner Wednesday night because I was so exhausted.

Classes yesterday went very well. Just a good time overall. Went to the chiropractor with Maggie to get adjusted. Man, was I hurting. Got home for dinner and then went out to Savonarola for the night with Jenna, Maggie, Tori, Rachel, Liza, Jacque and Catherine. Good times. Hung out at the Duomo for a bit and then came home.

Been doing housekeeping stuff this morning like laundry and returning e-mails. I'm going to see the Duomo and the Statue of David today with Jacque and Tori.

Ravenna tomorrow.

A domani.

Ein Prosit!!

Ein Prosit, ein Prosit
Der Gemütlichkeit
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit
Der Gemütlichkeit!

That was the most common sound ringing in my ears at Oktoberfest this weekend and I'll explain why later. I'm going to go ahead and start from the beginning - I'm a smart one.

So, departure was at 11:30 pm Thursday night from Santa Maria Novella train station. Aviva got lost on her way there and Rosa's attempts to find her were quite entertaining. On the bus I sat next to a girl named Casey from NYU. She was cool and we talked a lot of the way. Sleeping was beyond uncomfortable and henceforth didn't really happen.

Arrival in Munich was around 9 am and we went promptly to Marienplatz which is essentially the center of Munich. We met up with this guy Andy who was going to give us a bike tour. The tour was awesome and Andy was really enthusiastic about everything. He took us to the palaces, major churches and monuments, through the public park which is a third bigger than Central Park in NYC, and also to the largest street in the city. One thing to note about the park - there was river that was literally white water. So naturally, people decided to surf on it. From underneath the mouth of the bridge, rapids were forming across the span of a twenty foot wide river. It was the craziest thing to see. The city is absolutely gorgeous and I fell in love for sure.

After the bike tour, a bunch of us went to Dachau. Dachau is the first concentration camp used by the Nazis during World War II. It was the heaviest experience I have ever had. I really can't describe it here. I had a creepy feeling all over the entire time I was there. Being there in person is something that is an unfathomable experience and is unique for each person.

Later on Friday night we went to the Hauf Brau Haus which is essentially a year round beer hall. It was such an awesome experience. I got my first liter. The beer was so smooth and delicious. The atmosphere there was off the hook. People dancing, singing, going crazy - ALL IN LEIDERHOSEN! It was fantabulous. The food was great and it was an overall good time.

Saturday was awesome. It started out by me dressing as a clearly American tourist that wanted to be German. I bought suspenders, semi-high socks, a German hat, and a neck scarf. I wore my khaki shorts and my Mayfest/Euclid shirt in honor of everyone back home! I looked obscene but it was totally worth it.

Throughout the day, we just rode all the carnival rides and ate a crazy amount of German bratwurst, wienerschnitzel, pretzels, ice cream and popcorn. Glory of glory. It was amazing. I don't know how to really describe the people there other than that they were primarily in Leiderhosen and drunk - very, very drunk. It was comical because I was sober and just kind of taking everything in.

I did the really high and fast swings to get the best view of Munich possible. Other people did the big drop ride, the intense loop rollercoaster and all that but I just can't stomach those.

We walked around til about 7:30 and then Aviva, Rosa, and I went to a pizzeria outside of Oktoberfest to eat because there was NO WAY we were getting into the beer halls because they were just so packed and we didn't have a reservation for a table.

We ended up sitting with this guy named Lars who was eventually joined by his buddy Marcel. A little bit later on in the evening we made friends with the English guys sitting at the table next to us. James, Jason, and David bought us a round of beers and the seven of us were goofing off dancing and singing - just having a good old time. A little bit later on we were joined by these other two guys, Steven and Tomas. Great people - good times.

We got back to the hostel around 2 or something like that.

Sunday morning we headed back to Oktoberfest and did the same thing essentially. We were only there for five hours on Sunday so we decided to head to the Hippodrom Biergarten (Beer Garden) around 12:30 ish. We just hung out there til 2:30 when we had to get back on the bus.

Great weekend overall.

Monday was super busy and I was exhausted.

Yesterday was super busy and I was exhausted.

Today is going to be much better. I'm watching a movie in Italian right now and only had one other class this morning.

I'm going to buy a bike this afternoon and then I have the Freshman Forum. To finish out the night I have soccer practice which I'm really excited for. We have four games next week but I can only play in three so we have to find an alternate goalie for our first game.

Ahhhh, well. That's about it.

For those of you who want to ask me questions about certain stuff, my e-mail is em.e.allen@gmail.com.

Also, many of you had asked for my address over here.

It is as follows:

Syracuse University in Florence

Emily Allen, Student

Piazza Savonarola, 15

50132 Florence

Italy

Prost!

Das boot.

You win if you can tell me what the title is from.

Long and short of it - I will update next Monday probably due to the fact that...

I am going to Oktoberfest tonight in Munich, Germany.

Peace out homies.

"Maggie, they don't understand moo-lah!"

Haha - oh brother.

Alrightey, so Tuesday was quite the day. Classes were long as always and rather painful actually. I had my comedy workshop right after comedy class and then headed out to soccer practice. I have decided to join the soccer team here at school to compete in the international school tournament that takes place throughout the semester. I am the SU goalie. Holler. Anyway, soccer was tons-o-fun and went til 7:45 ish. Then I literally ran from Campo back home, which took me a good twenty minutes. Not to mention I had my backpack on with my laptop and essentially all my books. My shin splints were killing me and I am incredibly out of shape. Ugh.

Anyhow, got home just in time for dinner. I showered incredibly fast and ate dinner with the family. It was yet another fantastic dinner. After dinner I got ready to go surprise Maggie for her birthday. Rosa and Mary had set up a surprise party ish thing before we went out for the night. It went really well. Aviva and I headed over to the Savonorola hut for a drink before heading down to the Centro to meet up with Maggie's Italian friends.

They wanted to take us to this discoteca that was 20 euros to get in and none of us really wanted to pay that. Maggie tried telling them that we didn't have the "moo-lah" for that and then I got quite rowdy and assured her that they wouldn't have understood her. It was really funny at the time - one of those you had to be there things I suppose.

Regardless, as the evening went on, people began to go home and eventually it was just Maggie, Aviva, Rosa and me. We went to a club called Twice and just danced and had a good time for a while. We all eventually got home around 3ish.

I had class at 9 that I was up and on time for. Despite me being tired, I made it through the day. Went to San Ambroggia for Italian culture class and Rachel, Tori and I got cheeseburgers and french fries for lunch!! Delicious. The best part about it was that we were in a fresh food market and all that and the burger was awesome but instead of using good cheese for the burger they whipped out a Kraft Single - no lie. It was hysterical.

The rest of the day went well. Hung out with Beth in Student Life and then was off to Freshman Forum. Good talk about adapting today, guys. Went to Universo Sport after that to get some new socks and knee braces for soccer. Came home and had dinner and have been in the room since.

I got to vid chat with Mickey tonight!! Highlight of the day for sure. We're starting to plan fall break which is HONESTLY, REALLY, going to be FANTASTIC (hope you appreciate the subtle jokes, McC). Rachel came in at the end which was super cool as well!

My plans for the weekend got shot because Juan came down with the flu. So - if by some remote chance they let me, I will be accompanying the Florence For Fun company, Aviva, Rosa, Rachel, and Tori to Oktoberfest this weekend! I hope I do!

Stay well and swine flu free!

I survived a natural disaster.

There was an earthquake here last night. No - legitimately, it was a 4.8.

I had a good day yesterday. Classes went well and I met with Amy and Beth for a while. Went home, had a great walk with some great tunes on the iPod and then did some math homework with Tori. I remember now why I'm an English major. I couldn't divide 1005632 by 179...

Moving on. Dinner was fantastic and I had a lot of fun with the game and the food and conversation. I did my homework at the kitchen table with Franco. While we were sitting there everything started to shake and he told me to quit shaking the table. When I told him I wasn't and I thought that he was, we both recognized that the whole house was shaking as well. EARTHQUAKE!!! It was crazy. I had a headache for the rest of the night. Well we resolved all of that and I got ready for bed. Skyped with Mom and Dad for the first time which was cool.

Great morning this morning. Classes went fine. Lunch was fine. Weather is great. Happy 21st Birthday Maggie Gleason!! I'm off to soccer practice with Aviva now and then home for dinner.

Ciao Ciao!

Oh p.s. I think I might be acting the Festivale della Creativita in Florence...it's a big international thing. Google it.

I had Switzerland in my sandwich.

Buon(a) giorno/sera a tutti.

Eventful. That can really encompass this weekend. So originally the plan was to go to Cinque Terre and all that and then at the last minute, the oh so fantastic Beth DeFelici in the student life office, came to the aid of the first - years and I and set us up with a hotel in Chiavari. The cool thing about Chiavari is that it is where my family originates from and still lives today.

We got a cheap train and it left at 8:30 from Santa Maria Novella station. We booked it to the train and made the trek to Chiavari. We made it there around midnight after an eventful train trip of goofy pictures, fast food, and overall chaos. When we arrived at the hotel, the woman was really sketchy and informed us that the price to stay had doubled for two nights. We therefore decided that it would be economically best to leave Saturday night. Anyhow, to close out the night we watched Young Frankenstein in mine, Alaina, Emily, and Chandini's room. Most of us passed out until we were so rudely awakened by the multiple trains that came through - since it was right next to the station. Rough night.

Anyhow, we stayed in bed til probably ten. I decided to take a really big leap and call my relatives, Filippo and Clara, who live in Chiavari. They don't speak a word of English. It was very interesting to call them up and essentially say, "Yo. I'm your cousin. I'm in Chiavari. Let's chill." It worked. They came and got me and took me around Chiavari for the afternoon. I got to see this market that only happens once a month. It was pretty cool. They had friends who run a table at the market and I got to help them sell stuff! I walked around with Filippo a bit and he showed me some of the cool sites while Clara bought the bread and pasta for lunch.

We went back to the house and I got to see all pictures of my family and stuff it was really cool. Oh, and as a side note to all of this, they don't speak English. At all. Good stuff, huh? At any rate, Clara made pesto pasta for lunch - delish. It was accompanied by some meat thing that I really couldn't name, salad, fruit, and ice cream. Way too much. She gave me more pasta than her and Filippo combined. Slightly absurd. They took me back to the hotel after a great afternoon.

I met up with everyone else on the beach and hung out there for a little while. It was really nice and the water was the perfect temperature. Some of us got gelato and others just chilled. We sat on the boardwalk and watched the sunset. Caught the train and headed home to Florence. Good trip.

Sunday I stayed home all day and did homework, laundry, and read Watchmen, which Rach gave me before I left. I recommend it if you haven't read it already.

Today was long with class and stuff. Meetings and what not. Went to Masaccio with Aviva for lunch. It was funny because we were trying to figure out what to order and there was an option, number 19, that said that there was (basically) ham, lettuce, and Switzerland. It was just goofy - we were both scared to try it but who knows, maybe a future endeavor. After lunch, we went to the Supermarket which was a fun little adventure.

I skipped out on the comedy work shop today because I was doing a bunch of other things. Got some homework to do tonight. Not too much though. Just wanna take it easy. It's pouring here. Yippy kye ay for getting soaked on the way home.

Odio piove.

( I hate rain. )