All the Craziness that is Carnivale!

I'm a little bit behind yet again since I was supposed to write about Venice Monday and I just never got around to it!

Venice is my new favorite city in Italy!  The morning started off with the sun rising as I got ready to load the bus at 7:30 am.  The ride took about 3 and a half hours so they played the movie Casanova but I was so tired that I fell asleep about half way through the movie.  Just as the movie was ending I woke up and was greeted by rain and snow falling as we entered Venice.  The city center isn't accessible by bus so we all unloaded and waited at the dock for a boat to ferry us over.  The ferry ride took about half an hour and was freezing but we were all too excited to mind much.

As soon as we got off the ferry it was chaos.  There were people literally covering every square inch of space visible and everyone was either wearing a mask, a costume, or both.  Some how we managed to hear our tour leader shout to follow him to the glass blowing demonstration but following him seemed to be nearly impossible.  The crowds made it difficult to see our tour guide and follow him while trying to soak in the atmosphere of Venice.  At one point we were standing in a narrow road (even narrow as far as Italy is concerned) and we stood still for a good 5 minutes since there were so many people, no one could move.  We finally made our way through the crowds and over the bridges to the Murano Glass Factory.  The demonstration lasted all of 2 minutes but it was still cool. 

After the demonstration we were escorted by our glass blowing guide into another room covered from floor to cieling with hand blown glass items.  I was scared to move in fear of hitting something or hitting into someone else who would hit something since it was so crowded.  After a brief explanation of the different types and colors of glass available at the store, our guide said that there is a special going on for students!  I was so excited when he pulled beautiful drinking glasses and flower vases from the shelves, that is until he said that each glass was over 100 euro and the vases were over 150 euro.  No thanks.  After that disappointment we walked around the museum/shop looking at all the beautiful glass until I decided to buy a pair of earrings for 25 euro.  They are a beautiful aqua glass set inside cubic zirconium stones.

After the glass blowing tour we were free to roam the city but of course my first priority was food!  It was almost 2 o'clock by then and I was starving.  We tried walking around to find somewhere to sit and eat but unfortunately everything was either pack or insanely over priced.  The group of 10 decided to split up so it would be easier to eat and since half of the girls weren't that hungry.  Anna, Ashely, Nina, Nicole, and I continued our hunt for food when we finally settled on a little restaurant near the main piazza, San Marco.  The restaurant was of course over priced but they had Bellini's and I was tired of searching.  I settled on just ordering some spaghetti in a meat sauce and a Bellini.  The pasta was okay but the Bellini was delicious! (They are a Venician specialty!)  After lunch we strolled to Piazza San Marco to check out the Carnivale!

The carnivale was huge but very different then American carnivale.  First of all there are no clowns or animals in a ring.  They do however have a theme each year and this year the theme was 19th Century Women so a lot of the costumes were designed from the 19th Century which was amazing!  The main attraction is the people dressed up walking around but also there is a main stage that displays comedy shows, musical performances, and skits.  Anna and I stopped to watch for a little but we had no idea what was going on since it was all in Italian.

It started to rain so the other girls went to look for shelter but Anna and I were unfazed by the drizzling and continued to walk around people watching.  A few times poeple even asked us if they could take pictures of us since they liked our masks so much!  It was strange at first but everyone was taking pictures of everyone so we got used to it!  As we were walking around I continued to look for another mask since I wanted one with feathers.  I ended up finding the most perfect mask that was purple, had feathers, and glitter!  We continued to prance around the city taking in the sites until we happened to find April, Jenn, and Chelsea!  Together we went in search of somewhere for Anna to get tiramisu since its her favorite dessert and it was first created in Venice!  It was surprisingly difficult to find a place that served tiramisu but once we did we sat down and since I don't like tiramisu, I ordered another Bellini!

After our little snack we walked around and into the different shops looking at glass, food, and most of all masks! Mask making is considered a serious profession in Venice and it takes years to develop the skills to produce a quality mask.  Some of the masks were so ornate, I would be afraid to wear them without breaking it!  The most expensive price tag I could locate was 11,500 euro!

Of course as we were getting ready to meet back up with the tour bus to head home, we bought some gelato.  I saw cookie and immediately had to have it, good choice since it was delicioussss.  I tried to savor it, but it was just so delicious that I finished it before we even got back to the ferry!  We found our way back to the ferry and checked in with our tour guide and then patiently waited to load the ferry while it started to rain again.  We waited from 6:30pm until 8pm....IN. THE. RAIN.  Tired and wet, we loaded onto the ferry and then onto the bus.  Thankfully, they played the Italian Job on the bus ride home since it the beginning of the movie is filmed there.

I crawled into bed just before midnight and as the rain began to pour.

Se ami qualcuno, portalo a Verona

Translation: If you love someone, bring them to Verona.

I have to say, I was surprised at how truly beautiful Verona, Italy was.  The trip with Florence for Fun and all my roommates was a last minute trip booked earlier in the week; I put off booking the trip because I wasn't sure I was interested in visiting a city already known for being romantic and of course this weekend was the weekend before Valentines Day so Verona holds a festival called "Verona In Love".

After looking over the tour schedule for the day and the low price, I decided to book the trip.  I'm so glad I did because it was AMAZING.  Once getting into Verona by private coach bus, I was amazed to see how clean, traditional, and beauiful every single building was.  I don't think there was one building I saw during our entire day trip that wasn't decorated with ivory vines, flowers, iron balcony gates, or something for Valentines day!

We began our tour with a break, since we had been on the bus for 3 hours.  We ran across the street to a little bar for some cappachinos and an awesome chocolate/nutella filled croissant.  The tour then really began in Piazza Bra; a gorgeous fountain and park situated right next to the Roman Arena.  The Roman Arena is similar to the Colessum in Rome and is considered the third largest amphitheater in existance seating around 30,000 people.  During the summer months, it rivals the Syndey Opera House with its Verona Opera Festival. To get into the center of the romantic city of Verona, you enter under the Porta Borsari which is an arch that is believed to be built during 1st century AD, AND ITS STILL STANDING TALL.

Next we went to the Lover's Well.  The story behind the Lover's Well is that two young Veronese were in love but the man believed that the woman in the relationship was incapable of committing herself to him quoting that "the blood in your veins is as cold as the water at the bottom of the well"  In response the woman said "if you really loved me you would jump into the bottom of the well to see how cold that water really is"  Since the man truly loved her, he jumped into the well and the woman felt so terrible and missed him as soon as he jumped so she jumped in after him and the two disappeared together forever.  Now people are suppossed to drop a coin into the well and while its dropping think about what they would like thier ultimate destiny to be and it will come true.  Of course I threw some coins in!

While on our way to the next sight be were walked through Piazza delle Erbe, the most famous and exciting Piazza in Verona.  The Piazza is filled with restaurants, shops, the fountain Lady of Verona, the 14th Century Garadello Tower which is topped with statues of the six divinities.  This area was swarmed with tourists for obvious reasons.

Next we walked to the Ponte Pietra, a bridge that was originally constructed in 1503 then rebuilt several times in wood then stone then wood then stone etc.  From the bridge we were able to see the Castel San Pietro, which was formerly an Austrian barrack and is now closed to the public but its still gorgeous.

After the bridge we made our way to Basilica of Saint Anastasia.  The outside of the church was beautiful with a mix of reniassance and spanish architeture.  We went inside and of course the ceiling paintings were breathtaking.  The only weird part was that there was a church service in progress but anyone was allowed to enter and look around the church while this was happening.  Anna and I felt super awkward so we made our way outside after only a few pictures.

After the church we went to the Arche Scaligeri.  Apparently most Italian cities have like one major family that runs everything for years and then in taken down and disappear.  Verona's family is the Scala Family.  The Arche Scaligeri is a court yard outside of a church which is filled with the tombs of the Scala Family and protected by ornate iron fences.

Conveintly around the corner from the Scala family was Romeo's house. that is if you would like to call a cement wall with a sign and wooden garage door as a house.  When I think of Romeo's house I think of a mansion like in Shakespeare but it's nothing like that at all aka disappointing.

Luckily around the corner from Romeo's wall were the Roman Ruins.  The Ruins are actually located below the city so in a courtyard there were large glass circles you could look through.  Its insane but there are still mosaics that are intact and beautiful!

Our last guided location was to Juliet's house.  Our tour guide led us down a little road, we turned left and were greeted by swormes of tourists.  There is a tunnel which is covered in peoples writing of thier lovers all over the wall which opens into a small court yard.  The courtyard was jam-packed with people taking pictures, kissing, waiting in line to enter Juliet's house and go to her balcony, and poeple waiting in line to take a picture with the bronze statue of Juliet.  We waited in line for 5 minutes before we were tired of waiting to stand on a balcony so we just went and took a picture with the statue.  In my picture you can see that I'm grabbing her boob.  No, I'm not a pervert, I had good reason!  According to ledgend, if you rub Juliet's left boob then you are suppossed to get good fortune while finding a new lover!

After Juilet's balcony we were free to explore the city on our own.  Of course our first priority was FOOD.  Verona is known for the serving of cavallo aka horse.  Our one roommates was totally against this and another doesn't eat red meat so the group split in half; it was a once in a lifetime opportunity so I wasn't going to pass up the chance to try some!  Anna, April, and I asked our tour guide for some suggestions of place to eat, unfortunately we got a little lost looking for her restuarant before getting there.  Once we got there we were shocked to see the menu where there wasn't anything for under 30 Euro, PASS.

We wandered the streets as it began to rain still looking for a place that served cavallo when we came upon a place that looked quiet from the outside.  We opened the door was were greeted by a delicious smell of veggies, meat, dessert, and just plain goodness along all of the those ingredients beings hung on display!  We waited a few minutes in the busy restuarant before anyone who worked there even saw us.  Finally we were approached by an Italian woman who said something in Italian and we replied "Three please".  Then to our surprise she goes "No. No Room. Bye."  We stood there confused before a man working behind the bar came over and asked us if we needed help.  We told him again that we were 3 but we were told NO AGAIN! He felt awkward when we asked if we could wait and stumbled with his words before saying the kitchen was closing.  It was like 10 minutes until two on the busiest weekend of the year for Verona, we were clearly American and unwanted.

We walked around in the rain for about 20 minutes until we were starving, wet, and therefore aggitated.  We went to other first restuarant we saw which ended up actually being pretty good.  I was in the mood for meat since I was teased with the horse meat so I ordered beef stew with a side of veggies and roasted potatos.  We all wanted to try Verona's specialty wine but it was 11 euro per glass, too bad I'm on a budget.  Instead I ordered another Verona specialty drink, a spritzer!  I'm still not sure exactly whats in it but its orange, bubbly, and yummy!

After lunch it stopped raining so we walked to another piazza where the love festival was taking place.  The festival was surprisingly smaller than we all expected but we made the best of it by trying all the samples.  I tried several white wines and ended up buying a Soave ( Veronese White Wine Specialty) and Verona in Love Limited Edition White Zinfindel, both to share with Anna.  I also tried a bunch of different olive oils and cheeses which were delicious but not worth the euro's or having to carry them for the rest of the day.

We also went to a bakery where I wanted a piece of almond shortbread covered in grappa but unfortunately it was only avalible by the entire pie which i also didnt want to carry so I settled for an animal marzipan.  I have no idea what it was but they are a specialty of Verona and were only .60 euro so I tried it.  The middle was good but the outsiede which was bright pink was a weird taste so I quickly finished it before we walked around more.

Before meeting the group to leave for the day, we wanted to try what else? Gelato!  The three of us decided that we were going to try gelato in every Italian city so at the end of the trip we could decide which city makes the best.  For Verona i settled on Fraggola (strawberry) and something about mixed berry in a cone.  The strawberry was pretty good but not my favorite and the berry tasted like Trix yogurt.  Verona is definately not at the top of the gelato list.  We still had some time to kill and it started to rain again making it cold outside so we wandered into a cafe and split a bottle of white wine.

The bus ride home we watched Romeo and Juliet then How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days while I doozed on and off and ate some of the free chocolate stuffed with nutella.  It was a lovely day all around!

Hope everyone is enjoying thier Valentines Day, all the roommates and I are going to a romantic restaurant with a set menu near Santa Maria Novella.

Love and Miss all of you!

Catching Up

Ah! I can't believe it's been a week since my last blog post,  I have a lot to catch up on but I'll try to keep it short!


So the Superbowl started off at our new go-to bar, Naima. They have cheap drinks, fun music, and the bartender is a formed student abroad student from New Jersey who now lives full time in Florence!  We watched the game but unfortunately without any sound and no American commercials.  We watched the game until half time then decided to go to another bar where some friends from the program had reserved a table.  We hung out and watched the rest of the game then walked home around the block and crashed for the night.

Monday Anna and I decided to try Ganzo for dinner to use our meal plan.  The menu was really intricate and me being picky had a hard time ordering since every dish had at least one ingredient that I didn't like.  Finally I settled on linguini with clams and Anna ordered pasta with DUCK ragu.  They both ended up being moderately good but nothing to be excited about.  With our dinner we were able to choose if we wanted an appetizer or a dessert so of course we both ordered a dessert.  Anna got chocolate mousse with fresh ricotta and I got an apple strudel.  The strudel looked delicious but when I went to take a bite I realized it was stuffed with GIANT raisins..gross.  I picked out the raisins and it was also pretty good.

Tuesday was time to head back to class where I enjoyed religion then was overwhelmed in Italian.  I came home from class and decided to cook an easy dinner before going to the community service meeting.  Of course my first time cooking for the roommates I overcooked the pasta since it was like angel hair and I'm used to cooking penne.  And the wine I picked out at the store was just bad.  My roommates tried to make me feel better and say it’s okay, it’s the pasta's fault, and its cheap wine so of course it’s going to be not the greatest but I still felt bad.  Right before the meeting we decided to get gelato at Grom again since it’s so delicious!  This time I tried pear and zabaigone. A-MAZING.  The meeting ended up being in a tiny room so we had to sit on the steps, then I looked through all the opportunities and of course all the ones that looked interesting were at times I couldn't go and I didn’t want to do any of the ones that were available for my schedule.  So with my good luck, the torturing lasted for over an hour.

Wednesday I had class in the morning and I'm really beginning to not like the class since its an introduction into PR, Marketing, and Communication in Publishing, but no one in my class even knows what a press release is so it’s really an introduction to pr.  After class I met up with Anna and we went to the fresh food market near the San Lorenzo market.  We were shocked that inside, the market was massive!  Anna said she was going to have nightmares because there were dead chickens and pigs for sale but it’s different than the States since they leave the heads on the animals!  It was like basically walking through a slaughter house.  There were also tons of fresh fruit and veggie stands, a fish market, wine stores, and stands filled with dried fruit.  We decided to get a chicken breast to make for dinner and for 6 big slices of chicken it was only 3 euro which is AMAZING! In our super market they were selling have the amount of chicken for almost 17 euro!  We also got some fresh ingredients for a salad, freshly baked bread, wine, and fresh cheese to make our pasta sauce.

We dropped everything off at the apartment then went to the Oil Shoppe for lunch.  It was this little shop that was JAM PACKED with students ordering sandwiches.  Since being in Italy, Anna and I have both been craving Chicken Parm since hello, we thought it was Italian...As it turns out it’s not so we can’t find it anywhere!  Fortunately the Oil Shoppe had a chicken parm sandwich made with fresh tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella.  It was nothing short of amazing, we will definitely be going back soon!

We walked off our lunch by meeting the roommates at Florence For Fun, a travel agency that specializes in student trips all over Europe.  I decided to book a day trip to Verona for tomorrow, a trip to Venice for Carnivale, and a day trip to Chianti to tour a wine vineyard and have a wine tasting all for $245! So excited for my upcoming weekends of traveling!

After booking our trips I went back to apartment to tackle the rest of my unfinished homework and video chatted with Uncle Marty and Mom for a while.  I love seeing familiar faces after not knowing anyone on the streets of Firenze.  At night it was Anna and I's turn to cook dinner so Anna cooked up an alfredo sauce recipe from Mrs. Gleason and I made the salad, prepared the bread, cooked the chicken, and cooked the pasta.  All our hard work paid off since it was considered the best homemade meal by all the roommates!  It was so delicious we all went up for seconds and wished there was some left over for thirds!  While the other roommates worked on the dishes, Anna and I did her homework of watching Sabrina and How To Marry A Millionare, what a great day.

Thursday I woke up refreshed and ready for my favorite day of the week!  I started with Wine class where we took an insane amount of notes then tasted 3 Sangiovese wines, the first was good but the next two were definitely not my cup of tea.  After class I went home and ate the second half of my sandwich from the Oil Shoppe which was heavenlyyyy then went to Italian class.  My head was literally spinning the entire hour and 15 minutes, we learned numbers, greetings, adjectives, conjugations of adjectives and nouns, food vocab, how to order at a cafe and more.  It was exhausting!  When I got back from class I went with April to pay our lab fee for the wine class and picked up my last book for wine class.  We went back to the apartment ready to cook the rest of our chicken when someone mentioned mexican food and we all decided we were craving it.  We picked a place, got there and were told it was a 2 and a half hour wait.  Not happening.  Unfortunately this is Italy and there are not an abundance of Mexican restaurants so we thought we were out of luck until Jen suggested House of Sizzle, a steak house.  We get there are there is a special on pitchers of margaritas and they have nachos and quesadillas on the menu, YES PLEASE!  Anna and I shared everything and it was the perfect amount of food!

We were paying our check to leave when an Aussie approached the group and asked us our plans for the night.  We didn't have any so we chatted for a while and then headed next door to sing karaoke, SO FUN.  I headed home early since I had an early morning and long day planned for Friday.

Friday morning I woke up super early to meet my religion class to go on a walking tour through the Synagogue and the Jewish Museum.  I wasn't too excited until I saw the building, my jaw literally dropped it was so beautiful.  We weren't allowed to bring anything inside so everyone had to lock our bags into lockers then go through really intense/futuristic metal detector/body scan machines.  It was worth it though since once inside I literally couldn't stop looking up.  The arches and domes and walls were all covered in intricate patterns and just plain brilliant architecture.  We got a history lesson from the tour guide and I learned so much about Judaism that I never knew about.  The only problem with the tour was that the synagogue was built in the 1600's aka no heating so it was FRIGID.  We then proceeded to the museum, were guided some more, then were sent on our way.  Right after the tour was over I stopped quick for a takeout sandwich from Ganzo then ran to meet Anna, April, and Jen at the Santa Maria Novella train station.

We got our tickets and boarded the train to head to Pisa!  The city of the leaning tower!  The train ride was kind of depressing since it travels through the poorer sections of Tuscany plus everything is dead because its still winter time.  Once we got to Pisa we all realized that we didn't bring any sort of map of the city, how did we think we were going to find the tower?  You'd think of its fine just walk toward the giant building, well no since the tower was no where to be seen.  Finally I found a map of the city near the train station and we headed the in right direction.  We crossed the river and thought we were almost there but of course we got distracted.  By what? Gelato of course!  I'm so glad we stopped because that shop makes literally the best gelato I have ever had.  I ordered a cone of cookie and nutella.  Yes they have ice cream flavors that literally consist of COOKIES and NUTELLA.  Creamy, deliciousness at its finest.  We walked with our gelato singing "Just around the river benddd..." since every bend of the road we wanted to see the tower but 30 minutes later and still. no. tower.  Finally we started to see some signs and tourists and headed in their direction, ALAS THE TOWER!  We tried taking fun pictures of holding up the tower like all the other tourists but it is not as easy as you'd think!  We got our pictures then wandered back toward the train station looking for somewhere to eat dinner.  Surprisingly, no places in our 30 minute walk back were even worth a second glance.  We decided to catch the train back to Fireze and figure dinner out when we got back.  We stopped at a restaurant between San Lorenzo Market and the Duomo where I ordered a yummy baked lasagna.

On the walk home we grabbed some wine and then sat around playing games and telling stories all night.  Anna and April got tired just as Jen and I got our second wind, so we through on some clothes and headed out to see what the night could bring us.  We went to a few bars and then were brought to an Italian club by some girls we went.  The place was PACKED but so much fun with loud music and dancing.

Today is just a relaxing day.  Jen and I are watching illegal movies and tv online while Anna and April headed out to run some errands and do what else, SHOP.  Tonight we are going to cook up the rest of our chicken and pasta then call it an early night since we are leaving for Verona at 8 am tomorrow morning!

So much for a short post....I promise I'll be better with blogging this week!  Love and miss everyone! xoxo

I have a perfect jacket for you, just you...not Lady Gaga!

Yesterday was my day off so I planned to run errands with Anna in the morning and then go shopping and cook dinner at night.  The day got off to a late start when I didn't wake up until 11:20am!  Our room is so dark that when you wake up it looks like its the dead of the night when it's really almost noon!  Anna and I got ready then walked down to the ISA office so we could sign up for all the trips we want to go on with the program.  The office is adorable with modern art on all the walls, pamphlets and fliers for activities on all the shelves, and welcoming smiles on all the directors.

After leaving the ISA office, we walked along the Arno River. Seeing the Ponte Vecchio in the sunshine is beautiful!  We easily found our way to Ganzo, the restaurant that we both have meal vouchers with through our program.  Ganzo was crowded with students and customers but we were helped right away to pick up our vouchers and then sat down for lunch.  The menu choice is to get soup and pasta, a make your own salad, or a sandwich with a side.  I choose a ciabatta con roast beef e peccorino e roast potatos. I was nervous for the cheese since I had never heard of it but it was delicious!  The ciabatta was fresh, the cheese tasted similar to asiago cheese, and the potatos were roasted perfectly!  I am so glad that I have the meal vouchers and I'm also joining a wine club through Ganzo that meets weekly to taste and discuss food pairings with different wines.

After a stuffing lunch, Anna and I got lost looking for a building were we are supposed to have class.  Luckily while wandering we found girls who are in the same program as us and were able to point us in the right direction. I dropped Anna off at her class and then went back to the apartment to OOVOO for a little with Mom.  Shortly after getting home, the other roommates called me to join them for some shopping and gelato.  I didn't end up making any purchases but a friend in the program, Luke, introduced us to some of the best gelato available in Florence.  We walked into the shop and immediately it smelt like heaven, there were pastries and chocolate covering every available spot in this tiny shop.  The gelato is made fresh in the back so I played it safe and ordered vanilla which I have no other words except, utterly. amazing.  It was beyond creamy but not runny, and the favor was what vanilla should actually taste like.  We took our gelato outside and sat at the Piazza de Republica in front of the merry-go-round, it was simply blissful.

Unfortunately the teeny cup of gelato ended so we went up to Luke's apartment to make comparisons to ours.  The location was right on the piazza but was also down a sketchy ally and up 2 very steep flights of stairs.  The apartment was pretty ordinary except they had art on the walls and a toaster oven!  We were so jealous because we don't have a microwave OR a toaster oven.  After the brief tour we headed back to our apartment to begin cooking dinner for the night.  On the way home, I stopped to pick up a notebook for class and of course they are all overpriced so I ended up buying one large notebook for 5.50 euro and a folder for 1 euro.

For dinner, April cooked for the roommates an alfredo sauce with angel hair pasta.  While April created her own alfredo sauce, I prepared a light salad, and Anna cut up some bread to dip in olive oil and balsamic.  The dish ended up being delicious and we bought proper wine so the meal was a success to say the least.

Today before class, Anna and I walked around San Lorenzo which is a road dedicated to tiny shops selling everything from jackets to watches, face masks to sweat shirts.  As we were walking all the vendors come up to you and are like "HI! CIAO! BUONGIORNO! LEATHER!"  We learned to ignore them and keep walking until one vendor runs up to Anna and exclaims, "I have a perfect jacket for you, its perfect! It's just for you, not Lady Gaga!"  We both burst out laughing and but kept walking....was I seriously called Lady Gaga this morning?!  We walked for a while and I ended up buying a pair of authentic italian leather gloves with a cashmere lining for warmth.

After becoming a celebrity for a brief moment, I headed to my first class!  I had World Religion and was able to find it no problem so I was about 10 minutes early and one of the first ones to class.  My instructor seems like she knows what shes talking about and is dedicated to the subject.  The class is going to be a decent amount of work since I have readings and homework assignments due each class along with a midterm, a 5 page paper, and a final.  After class I headed home and made myself a fresh salami and mozzarella sandwich accompanied by some tomatoes while OOVOOing with Uncle Marty and Aunt Lisa.  I just finished cleaning up the kitchen and am ready to head to my Italian class and then meet Anna for our Cultural Anthropology class together.

Miss everyone! xo