Eggplant Parmigano

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