A Late Post about Life Lately

2-28-10 (I didn't have internet this weekend so it's a day late)
Since I haven’t updated in SO long, and I have done so much since I last blogged, I am going to blog in sections and you don’t have to read it all in one sitting since I know you want to read every last word. Haha.

Siena—Florence’s Rival


We visited on 2-13-10 and I wasn’t that impressed. It may be because Florence has a super long rival with Siena since they are both in Tuscany, and I like to think of myself as a Florentine. However, Siena has a killer Duomo. Inside, they have sculptures/busts of every past pope. The detailing inside is probably the second coolest church I’ve seen, and trust me, I’ve seen A LOT in the past month. The façade is amazing too. Check out my pics on facebook in the Day Trippin’ album. It was absolutely gorgeous. However, the weather that day was miserable. The forecast said that it would be in the 40s and 50s and sunny. I dressed for that weather as did everyone else, but little did we know that THERE WAS SNOW ON THE GROUND!! First snow I’ve seen that stuck since I’ve been in Europe. It was SO cold and my shoes weren’t ideal either. I thought my toes were frostbitten, but luckily they were only numb. We all survived. Siena is set into 17 different districts, or neighborhoods if you will, even though the city is not very large. Every summer they have horse races in their main piazza between 10 of the districts. I am still not clear as to how they choose the 10 from the 17 districts, but I really would love to go! Too bad it’s in August. Just like everywhere else, Siena is known for a particular food. Fritelles! They are “fried rice balls” but I would compare them to funnel cake balls with sugar sprinkled on them instead of powdered sugar. It was 4 for 1 euro so naturally I bought some! I also had the best calzone for lunch, but that’s beside the point. From Siena, we left for San Gimignano.

San Gimignano—It’s a mouthful to say!

San Gimignano is a PRECIOUS! It’s a tiny town in Tuscany that has numerous towers. They originally had 72 towers, but only 14 remain. THE BEST part about San Gimignano though, besides the views, is the GELATO! They are known for the best gelato in Italy, and it certainly lived up the reputation. I was a little disappointed that World Champion Gelato store was closed until March, but the place next door made up for it. I just might have had 2 servings consisting of 4 flavors. Crema and Stracciatella (sp?) are by far tops! Other than the views and good gelato, there wasn’t much else to the town. However, the church that I went in had really cool frescoes. Every inch of the interior was covered with frescoes that told stories from the Old and New Testament. It was really cool to see the Bible in pictures that are so historic. We took lots of touristy pics and there’s really not much else to say.

Valentine’s Day—Still a loner!

Let me preface this by saying that Valentine’s Day in Italy is NOT anything like V-Day in the states. It is not a big deal at all. Yes, there are Valentine’s specials and Valentine’s paraphernalia in stores, but people don’t take it as seriously as they do at home. Coming from the ultimate independent chick who has never had a serious relationship or a Valentine that isn’t already related, it was quite refreshing to skip the whole “I worship some other person” day for the year. I honestly forgot it was Valentine’s Day until someone asked me around dinner time if I had Valentine’s plans, which I didn’t. I haven’t found my Bertolli yet. Haha! There have been quite a few cute Italians along the way, but speaking English is a prerequisite for me and none of them have been very conversational, so we tend to hit a dead end. Perhaps one day I’ll know enough Italian to hang out with Italians that don’t speak English…That’ll be the day. But for now, I am still in search of my Bertolli Giovani, as Marion would say, however, he MUST speak English.

WEDNESDAYS= Experience Firenze Days

Because I missed a day trip on Valentine’s Day to the Chianti region due to extreme exhaustion from a late night, I made a resolution to not say no. Don’t worry though. It only applies to taking advantage of my surroundings. I still “Just Say No” and all that jazz. I want to experience and see everything I can while I’m here, which basically means I will not allow myself to just sit around in my apartment watching shows online unless it’s raining outside (which is fairly often this time of year). So the Wednesday after V-Day, I attended a field trip with my Wine Communication and Marketing class in the morning. It was a very cool event. We got to attend a press conference for the media concerning Chianti Classico in the US Market. I’ve always wanted to attend a press conference, so I can now check that off on the bucket list. The event is called Chianti Classico Collection, which is an annual event at which all the Chianti Classico vendors release their new Chianti Classicos and Riserva collections. We did a little wine tasting and field research (the fun part). BUT I have 2 papers to write concerning marketing strategies and whatnot (the dreaded part). The best part about that Wednesday was that I didn’t want to get out of bed that morning, but I am so glad that I did because it was a 30 minute walk to the event down the river with clear skies and the sun shining down on my face. It put me in the best mood which is why I had the best day in Florence yet. I came home, ate a delicious Panini (at home—money saver! You’re welcome, parents), took a quick nap, threw on my running shoes and went for a jog with Sarah to Piazza Michelangelo. The picture shows the Ponte Vecchio that is right by my apartment and a part of my run. Piazza Michelangelo—an amazing park/piazza atop a hill in the city with spectacular views of all of Florence. I can’t describe how amazing it was to see grass and trees and nature at its best. You know that feeling you get when you can’t help but smile because you are so happy and you start to think about how awesome everything is until you realize that you can’t possibly take it all in and then your mind starts racing because you want to take it all in but you have to stop yourself and realize that it’s not going anywhere? (Bet you had to re-read that a time or two. Yes, I know it’s a run-on.) WELL, that is kind of how it felt, except better! It was so refreshing to be out of the hustle and bustle part of the city and just chill. The jog up was hard and definitely put my shins in bad shape for a couple days, but it was so worth it. Sarah and I explored the hill and unintentionally got lost on the way down. However, it worked out for the best. Instead of going straight back down the hill we took a detour around the hill. We jogged through neighborhoods and parks and I loved every minute of it. The quick jog we had originally planned on turned out to be about 2 hours long, but hey, what else did I have to do? Homework? Nah…
This past Wednesday I finally made myself go t L’Accademia, which is where the real David statue lives. Let me just explain to you the real David. The David statue is iconic. Michelangelo, the greastest sculptor of all time, sculpted him for the Florentine government, but enough with the boring facts. HE IS GORGEOUS. Michelangelo actually sculpted the perfect man, almost. He has perfect hair, a rockin’ bod, and is the epitome of a man. I will certainly no longer refer to a tight butt as “buns of steel,” but rather “buns of stone.” Abs will no longer be referred to as just “sculpted” when describing a hot bod but as “abs like David’s.” I’ll just say that it’s worth seeing, and even though I get in free (cause I’m cool like that), I would pay any day of the week to admire Michelangelo’s work.

Isola d’Elba—As MK & A once taught me, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled there!

In case you are slacking on your pop culture, MK & A is Mary Kate and Ashely Olsen, my former, childhood, world-traveling idols. Perhaps that’s why I love traveling so much? They were such inspirations! Elba Island is Italy’s 3rd largest island that is off the western coast. Though it truly isn’t that far from Florence, it is a journey to get there. After a night out on the town with my friend Nick from UT (a fellow Global Leadership Scholar who is studying in Rome), I woke up EARLY to catch the 7 am train with Padre Bruno and friends. Once we arrived in the dirty area that is Piombino on the coast, we awaited our Toremar blue collar ferry for Elba Island. Mussolini, the Fascist, industrialized the port of Piombino and ruined the scenery. I was sad to see such an industrial part of Italy. What a bad man through and through. Our ferry was fun though and it took us to “a whole new world” as Princess Ariel would say. The coast was gorgeous. It was one of those things where it is so spectacular that it doesn’t even look real. The whole was like I was looking at a flawless backdrop. The weather was perfect, the scenery was the most beautiful I have ever seen and probably will ever see, and best of all, we were the only Americans! It was refreshing to escape tourists. Though I am essentially one myself, tourists get in the way and tick me off, which just makes me dread the next few months since tourists will just be flooding the city more and more day by day. But, back to Elba. I originally wanted to go there because MK & A mention it in Passport to Paris, which is one of my all time favorite MK & A movies. Lame reason? Yes. Glad it got me set on going? Absolutely. > I really can’t do much more to describe the scenery, except say that pictures definitely do not do it justice. It’s one of those things that will always take my breath away. The funniest part of the trip was our accommodations though. Padre Bruno has a friend named Bruno ironically who I will refer to as Friend Bruno. Friend Bruno lives on Elba in Marciana Marina. According to Padre Bruno, Friend Bruno has a “lover” in Rome who he was visiting for the weekend, so Friend Bruno left the key for us to his apartment. We walked in to find dirty dishes in the sink, food out on the table, and shoes thrown hastily into the corner. It was the ultimate bachelor pad. Not only was it a quaint little place that cost us nothing for the night, it was a block from the beach. My dream! The beach/the ocean or sea/water and sky is my jam! I could live on a beach and be perfectly content with my life. We cooked a great dinner and just had a great time. The 5 girls all crammed into Friend Bruno’s king size bed like a bunch of sardines and left the floral printed futon pad for the boys. Mom and Dad, please note that I am saving money. This “pay as you go” trip, as Padre Bruno would refer to it, cost me 40 euro in transportation (since we took every form possible sans sky) and 5 euro for all I could eat food, wine and water. That’s traveling on a budget! And the experience in Elba was absolutely priceless!

I have more to say, as I normally do, but this post is already too long and Switzerland deserves a post of its own. Check back later this week to read about my thrilling adventures in the Alps!

Love from Firenze! Miss y’all! (PS If you ever notice me saying you guys, make me a check myself. I am the only one who says y’all, and on occasion I catch myself thinking you guys is okay. Not cool!)