Caio bella, I apologize for my poor upkeep of this blog...but I suppose I will fill you in on the past couple weeks :)
I am currently sitting in my kitchen, listening to "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" and waiting for dinner to be ready. My roommates and I are very ambitious chefs, on the menu tonight is eggplant parmigano. Last night it was homemade chicken noodle soup...yes, Steph even made homemade chicken broth by boiling a chicken for like three hours...it was amazing. Anyway, some of you may have heard through the grapevine about my spontaneous trip to Interlaken, Switzerland last weekend. Last Thursday morning, two of my roommates and I decided to sign up very last minute for the Interlaken trip with Euroadventures. So, after my 6 hour jewelry class, I literally ran to the train station to catch the bus and was off to Switzerland. While I was there, I felt compelled to jump out of a helicopter and skydive...it was the most amazing thing I have ever done in my entire life. I can't even begin to describe the adrenaline rush and how beautiful the Swiss Alps are- absolutely incredible. I knew if i didn't go for it then, I may never do it. AND! Interlaken is the ONLY PLACE ON EARTH where a person can tandem skydive out of a helicopter...yes, it really is the ONLY place.
After my skydive, my roommates and I decided it was time to go for a hike. We stayed at the world famous Funny Farm Hotel and Hostel and the people there are simply wonderful. We asked Tony if there was a trail we could hit up behind our hotel and he asked if we wanted a guide. Keep in mind by "guide" he meant huge St. Bernard, named Spliff. "She knows the way! If you ask her to bring you home, she will just turn around". Really? So, Rachel, Claire, Spliff and I headed off for a hike. And yes, Spliff did in fact know the way and would even wait for us while took a million and one tourist photos of the fabulous view.
The next day we decided to take the train into Grindewald. It was snowing, but still beautiful. We wondered around until it was time to go to our fondue dinner and night sledding, excuse me, "sledging", adventure. And by "sledging" I mean taking a train to the top of a mountain and slidding down on a wooden sled...it was insane and so much fun. Of course we did not come prepared with the proper attire for this occasion...and the rental shop ran out of snow boots...but I have to admit getting my Nike Shox SOAKING wet was well worth it.
On the third day of my Switzerland weekend, it was time to go home...NOT! We got stuck there an extra night because of a blizzard! Apparently the tunnels our bus had to take in order to get out of the alps are avalanche prone...therefore, it was back to the Funny Farm for an extra night. All in all, going to Switzerland has been the best decision I have made so far. That trip allowed me to do so many things I probably will never get to do again...and it made me realize how much I love the outdoors, mountains and snow. Don't get me wrong- Florence is amazing. However, I needed a weekend to get out of the city and see a tree.
This week was slightly uneventful but definitely full of good food, as I mentioned earlier. I'm starting to get in the groove of school...but really, I don't think I will ever feel like my classes are a burden while I'm here. I am taking advanced classic photography, culture shock psychology, social psychology, beginning Italian and introduction to jewelry making. My Italian professor is probably the cutest woman I have ever met in my entire life. She is very lively and likes to talk about Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City. It may sound cliche, but she makes learning the Italian language a fun, worthwhile process...unlike my past experiences with the spanish language. My jewelry class is also a blast, it looks like I will be coming home with my own, homemade rings....for those of you that may know me too well- I LOVE RINGS and I LOVE JEWELRY! The studio is very fun and I always feel like I don't deserve to be there when I walk in- it's really neat. In my social psychology class we are talking about Facebook and online social networks, my professor is pretty young and can relate to us on so many levels. She also recommends good restaurants and tells all of her restaurant-and-wine-bar-owning friends to give us discounts haha
It sounds like dinner is almost ready, so I must leave you until next time. This weekend we are headed to Fiesole for the chocolate festival on Saturday and possibly Venice for carnaval on Sunday. I hope all is well in your respective places, I miss you :)
Pace,
Kim
venerdì 13 febbraio 2009
martedì 3 febbraio 2009
And so it begins!
Hey everyone! So, I've been in Florence just over a week and I am absolutely loving it! I have so much I want to say and so many people I want to email, so I have decided to start one of these silly blogs to keep you all updated...I know you're super excited about it. I suppose I will just tell you (almost) everything I have been up to so far...
For starters, I couldn't have asked for a better living situation. My roommates are wonderful, and we all get along so great. Our apartment is really nice and just 2 blocks from the Duomo. For the first few days we didn't really know our way around, so we would just ask people where the Duomo was in order to find our way back home. It's crazy that people travel from all over the world to spend 15 minutes taking pictures of one of the world's most amazing cathedrals, and I get to witness it everyday.
On the first night of my trip, my roommates and I discovered a journal in one of our bookshelves full of advice from past FUA students. It demanded we attend Beatles night at Be Bop, the bar across from our apartment. So, after reading that, we went across the street to listen to the band who plays only Beatles song, all night. It was fabulous. I think the only drawback to the night life in Florence is the lack of late night food, which is why I have decided to make it my life mission to find one of the "secret bakeries". I guess there are multiple bakeries around the city and they begin baking at 1 am in order to have fresh goods in the morning. If you knock on the door, they will open it and give you a treat! We haven't been to one yet...but I have a feeling I will become a frequent visitor.
Throughout the week we had orientation for our classes and learned a little more about the city of Florence. We were also given the dos and donts for our apartments and my roommate, Claire, and I discovered we had already broken multiple rules. The last thing we want is an email at the end of the semester telling us we owe our landlords money, so we made sure to document our apartment's flaws thoroughly.
Over the weekend, my friends and I decided it was time to start traveling. We figured starting out small may be best so we could figure out the train system and such. We didn't believe the woman at the ticket counter that there are little yellow boxes to validate our tickets...but apparently there are... So, on Sunday, we took the train to Pisa! In Pisa, we saw the leaning tower and climbed to the top. When you walk up the steps, you can actually feel the tower leaning, it was quite the adventure. After walking up 294 stairs, we were at the top and could see all of Pisa. It was incredible. When we made it back to the bottom, we took a bunch of tourist pictures and ventured on to the small city of Lucca. My grandma visited there when she was in Italy and told me that I HAD to go there. So, we took the train from Pisa to Lucca and had lunch in one of the few restaurants that was open. We failed to remember that it was in fact Sunday, and around lunch time...in other words...everything shuts down around that time in Italy, because they love relaxing and napping in the middle of the day. Still, our waitress was great and practiced her English with us while we butchered our Italian with her haha After lunch, we roamed around Lucca. Lucca is a town built entirely within Renaissance walls, and because they were never conquered, they are still standing today. The walls are high and wide with biking and walking paths on top, so we explored and enjoyed the rain.
Yesterday, because it was still raining...I bought green rain boots. They will probably be the best investment of my life. And I love them. Classes started this week, so I went to my first photography class. We learned how to set up and use a large format camera (you know...one of the super old ones, where you put a black cloth of your head and use a shutter release). I'm a little afraid that I'm going to break it and at the end of the semester I will get an email that reads, "Dear Student, you owe FUA €500,000 for breaking the fabulous large format camera"....but I'm sure it will be fine.
Well, my next class is about to start so I will end this blog by saying that I have so much more to say. Italians love wine and food, they don't wait in orderly lines, they are always late and they are HORRIBLE drivers. The open air market is probably one of the most overwhelming things I have ever seen and I still have trouble opening my apartment door. And Florence has an Ikea.
Until next time, pace and vino! (peace and wine)
Love,
Kim
For starters, I couldn't have asked for a better living situation. My roommates are wonderful, and we all get along so great. Our apartment is really nice and just 2 blocks from the Duomo. For the first few days we didn't really know our way around, so we would just ask people where the Duomo was in order to find our way back home. It's crazy that people travel from all over the world to spend 15 minutes taking pictures of one of the world's most amazing cathedrals, and I get to witness it everyday.
On the first night of my trip, my roommates and I discovered a journal in one of our bookshelves full of advice from past FUA students. It demanded we attend Beatles night at Be Bop, the bar across from our apartment. So, after reading that, we went across the street to listen to the band who plays only Beatles song, all night. It was fabulous. I think the only drawback to the night life in Florence is the lack of late night food, which is why I have decided to make it my life mission to find one of the "secret bakeries". I guess there are multiple bakeries around the city and they begin baking at 1 am in order to have fresh goods in the morning. If you knock on the door, they will open it and give you a treat! We haven't been to one yet...but I have a feeling I will become a frequent visitor.
Throughout the week we had orientation for our classes and learned a little more about the city of Florence. We were also given the dos and donts for our apartments and my roommate, Claire, and I discovered we had already broken multiple rules. The last thing we want is an email at the end of the semester telling us we owe our landlords money, so we made sure to document our apartment's flaws thoroughly.
Over the weekend, my friends and I decided it was time to start traveling. We figured starting out small may be best so we could figure out the train system and such. We didn't believe the woman at the ticket counter that there are little yellow boxes to validate our tickets...but apparently there are... So, on Sunday, we took the train to Pisa! In Pisa, we saw the leaning tower and climbed to the top. When you walk up the steps, you can actually feel the tower leaning, it was quite the adventure. After walking up 294 stairs, we were at the top and could see all of Pisa. It was incredible. When we made it back to the bottom, we took a bunch of tourist pictures and ventured on to the small city of Lucca. My grandma visited there when she was in Italy and told me that I HAD to go there. So, we took the train from Pisa to Lucca and had lunch in one of the few restaurants that was open. We failed to remember that it was in fact Sunday, and around lunch time...in other words...everything shuts down around that time in Italy, because they love relaxing and napping in the middle of the day. Still, our waitress was great and practiced her English with us while we butchered our Italian with her haha After lunch, we roamed around Lucca. Lucca is a town built entirely within Renaissance walls, and because they were never conquered, they are still standing today. The walls are high and wide with biking and walking paths on top, so we explored and enjoyed the rain.
Yesterday, because it was still raining...I bought green rain boots. They will probably be the best investment of my life. And I love them. Classes started this week, so I went to my first photography class. We learned how to set up and use a large format camera (you know...one of the super old ones, where you put a black cloth of your head and use a shutter release). I'm a little afraid that I'm going to break it and at the end of the semester I will get an email that reads, "Dear Student, you owe FUA €500,000 for breaking the fabulous large format camera"....but I'm sure it will be fine.
Well, my next class is about to start so I will end this blog by saying that I have so much more to say. Italians love wine and food, they don't wait in orderly lines, they are always late and they are HORRIBLE drivers. The open air market is probably one of the most overwhelming things I have ever seen and I still have trouble opening my apartment door. And Florence has an Ikea.
Until next time, pace and vino! (peace and wine)
Love,
Kim
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