For this weekend my Italian family and I traveled to the Amalfi Coast! Before I get into telling you more about my weekend adventures, I would first like to explain who my Italian family is. This group of 8 CEA students consists of my closest friends here in Firenze. They are my support system and are my home away from home. I am so lucky to have found good friends like these and I am very happy to share my study abroad experience with them. All 9 of us, took a long bus ride from Firenze to Sorrento late on Thursday night. Sorrento is a small town in Southern Italy and is a perfect place to stay if you want to visit Pompeii/Positano/Capri. And in fact, we visited all three of those places.
Capri was the first destination we visited. This beautiful, rich island is just south of the Gulf of Naples. It is a very popular resort area for tourists and I think know why, it is spectacular. The views are breathtaking, the food is fresh, and the town is luxurious. One of the well-known things to do on this island is to shop. And don't worry mom, I actually did not give into buying overpriced shoes. I have to admit, I was very tempted though. A young college student traveling through Europe has to learn where to spend their money and I had to pass on buying goods from Capri. I did however do something that everyone should try to attempt when they visit this divine island. I hiked to the top of Monte Solaro! Monte Solaro is the highest point on Capri and reaches up to almost 600 meters (almost 2,000 feet) above sea level. This hike took me up a steep, rocky climb through a forrest to reach the top. This was probably the hardest hike I have ever done in my life. Unfortunately, I had been recovering from a cold and halfway into the hike it started to rain pretty heavily. There were many times when I had wanted to turn back but I had to completed this "intense rock climb" (as one of my friends describes it). The view from the top was amazing. I will never regret putting my body through that much pain to see the whole island of Capri. It was one of my most satisfying moments of my studying abroad adventures. Seeing the huge blue ocean and small white-washed town was a magnificent site.
When we all finally got back down Monte Solaro, after climbing down over 1,000 stairs, we went on a boat ride around the island. But because of the bad weather, we weren't allowed to see the blue grotto. Everyone was a little bit disappointed about that but I like the think of it as a good excuse to come back to this little island again. I would love to come back to Capri.
The next day all 9 of us went to my favorite town of this trip: Positano. We had to cram on a bus from Sorrento to Positano. It was so packed that we had to stand up in the aisle way. Now driving through the Amalfi coast in a packed Italian bus was an interesting experience. The roads along the coast are dangerously small and full of sharp turns but the views were amazing. I loved the experience. I thought of it as an hour long amusement park ride with beautiful glimpses of the ocean and cliffs. On the other hand, my other friends did not agree with me. They all felt pretty sick by the end of it. But in the end, it was all worth it. Positano was beautiful. This little hillside ciyty was full of brightly painted houses and blooming buganvilia. This all contributed to the sweet and lovable atmosphere Positano provided to me.
On Sunday, my Italian family and I visited the ancient ruins of Pompeii. Pompeii was just a short train ride away from Sorrento and was a great place to tour. I think of this old Roman town as a good site to explore. I loved climbing/jumping around all the rocks, viewing ancient amphitheatres, and admiring frescos. I have previously visited Pompeii with my family about eight years ago but I did not have any memories of it. I loved revisiting this site and I am so glad that i did.
Overall, my weekend was amazing even though the weather was not the best at times. I had many beautiful experiences that I know I will never forget.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Cinque Terre Photos
Monterosso's beach 
Riomaggoire mural
Riomaggoire
Riomaggoire
Riomaggoire
Jodie (the amazing photographer) Hiking to Manarola
Ricky & Marissa (cutest couple) Liz, Giancarlo, & Steph
Jodie & I (one of her photos)
Manarola
best pesto gnocchi in the world
Manarola Manarola
Hike from Manarola to Corniglia
Krissy, Me, & Jodie
Corniglia
Vernazza
Vernazza
VernazzaMonday, September 13, 2010
Cinque Terre
This Friday CEA had an optional day trip to Cinque Terre and of course I went! In fact, I even stayed longer with a group of my friends. We stayed in a pretty big apartment in Lavento, which is just above the 5th town called Monterosso.
The beach at Monterosso was beautiful and very refreshing. I swear the ocean was sparkling and swimming in it was amazing. My friends and I practically spent our whole first day just marveling at it.
The hiking in Cinque Terre had remarkable views of the sea. On the Saturday, we took the train into Riomaggiore (the lowest city) then hiked to Manarola, where I had the best pesto gnocchi in the world. My pesto sauce was so fresh and light. It was so tasty that I have to write a food entry about it in my food journal for my food & wine class. From then on, we hiked to Corniglia and took the train to Vernazza. We just managed to get there in time to watch the sunset. My roommate, Jodie, is an amazing photographer and she managed to capture some stunning shots in Vernazza.
Overall, the five cities of Cinque Terre charmed me. Their small quaint towns are each unique in their own way but piece together quite beautifully. I only wish I could see them during Christmas time when they are all decorated in strands of lights. Who knows, maybe I will just have to make another trip up north.
Unfortunately, we had a little bit of trouble actually leaving Cinque Terre. Not because we didn’t want to go, but because of Italian trains. After spending our Sunday morning at Monterosso’s beach, we tried to take a train from Le Spezia to Firenze. The key word in is tried. When we reached Le Spezia from Monterosso around 2, we waited for our train to Firenze at 3. We hung around for a bit, people watched, even a few of us went to McDonalds (which by the way has higher quality everything than back at home). But when 3 rolled around, my friends and I checked the board to see where our platform was. We all noticed three letters next to our train: SOP. Being the lazy, young American students that we are, we didn’t ask what those three letters meant but went to the platform anyway.
Finally, when our train arrived we hopped on it. All of us were so happy to be on our way back home and rest our feet. As we were getting settled, a railroad worker came over and knocked on our window outside. He told us we needed to get off the train. We all looked at each other and our hearts sank. Apparently all public transportation workers in Tuscany had gone on strike while we were enjoying the beautiful towns of Cinque Terre. We all trudged sadly and slowly to the ticket office and tried to sort out our mess.
Luckily, we found a train to Roma that stopped in Pisa (which happens to be a lot closer to Firenze than La Spezia). We bought a new ticket and hopped on that train about an hour later. When that train arrived in Pisa, we all gathered together in the main station to figure out what to do. We were considered taking a taxi (which would have been outrageously overpriced for us students), we thought about spending the night in Pisa (which would have been bad for the people who had class Monday), and even debated about going to the Pisa airport to take a bus from there. Thankfully, as we were checking the train board we saw a different train leaving Pisa to Firenze at that exact minute. We didn’t even consider buying a ticket. All of us hurriedly ran to the platform and jumped onto the train and made it in the nick of time. During the whole entire weekend, my friends and I bought tickets for all the trains, hiking trails, and etc and never had been checked. We were praying a conductor wouldn’t come around. Sure enough, 30 minutes later the conductor came through our compartment to check our tickets. I was freaking out and hoped that he wouldn’t throw us off the train or give us a 50 euro fine. When it came to our turn, the conductor barely glanced at our tickets and accepted them all. We were all so happy and ecstatic that we all managed to get to Firenze safely. We had such great luck in the end. I was so happy that our catastrophic train ride home to Firenze turned into a miracle. Looking back on this great weekend, I am so glad to be home and I can’t wait my next adventure in Italy.
The beach at Monterosso was beautiful and very refreshing. I swear the ocean was sparkling and swimming in it was amazing. My friends and I practically spent our whole first day just marveling at it.
The hiking in Cinque Terre had remarkable views of the sea. On the Saturday, we took the train into Riomaggiore (the lowest city) then hiked to Manarola, where I had the best pesto gnocchi in the world. My pesto sauce was so fresh and light. It was so tasty that I have to write a food entry about it in my food journal for my food & wine class. From then on, we hiked to Corniglia and took the train to Vernazza. We just managed to get there in time to watch the sunset. My roommate, Jodie, is an amazing photographer and she managed to capture some stunning shots in Vernazza.
Overall, the five cities of Cinque Terre charmed me. Their small quaint towns are each unique in their own way but piece together quite beautifully. I only wish I could see them during Christmas time when they are all decorated in strands of lights. Who knows, maybe I will just have to make another trip up north.
Unfortunately, we had a little bit of trouble actually leaving Cinque Terre. Not because we didn’t want to go, but because of Italian trains. After spending our Sunday morning at Monterosso’s beach, we tried to take a train from Le Spezia to Firenze. The key word in is tried. When we reached Le Spezia from Monterosso around 2, we waited for our train to Firenze at 3. We hung around for a bit, people watched, even a few of us went to McDonalds (which by the way has higher quality everything than back at home). But when 3 rolled around, my friends and I checked the board to see where our platform was. We all noticed three letters next to our train: SOP. Being the lazy, young American students that we are, we didn’t ask what those three letters meant but went to the platform anyway.
Finally, when our train arrived we hopped on it. All of us were so happy to be on our way back home and rest our feet. As we were getting settled, a railroad worker came over and knocked on our window outside. He told us we needed to get off the train. We all looked at each other and our hearts sank. Apparently all public transportation workers in Tuscany had gone on strike while we were enjoying the beautiful towns of Cinque Terre. We all trudged sadly and slowly to the ticket office and tried to sort out our mess.
Luckily, we found a train to Roma that stopped in Pisa (which happens to be a lot closer to Firenze than La Spezia). We bought a new ticket and hopped on that train about an hour later. When that train arrived in Pisa, we all gathered together in the main station to figure out what to do. We were considered taking a taxi (which would have been outrageously overpriced for us students), we thought about spending the night in Pisa (which would have been bad for the people who had class Monday), and even debated about going to the Pisa airport to take a bus from there. Thankfully, as we were checking the train board we saw a different train leaving Pisa to Firenze at that exact minute. We didn’t even consider buying a ticket. All of us hurriedly ran to the platform and jumped onto the train and made it in the nick of time. During the whole entire weekend, my friends and I bought tickets for all the trains, hiking trails, and etc and never had been checked. We were praying a conductor wouldn’t come around. Sure enough, 30 minutes later the conductor came through our compartment to check our tickets. I was freaking out and hoped that he wouldn’t throw us off the train or give us a 50 euro fine. When it came to our turn, the conductor barely glanced at our tickets and accepted them all. We were all so happy and ecstatic that we all managed to get to Firenze safely. We had such great luck in the end. I was so happy that our catastrophic train ride home to Firenze turned into a miracle. Looking back on this great weekend, I am so glad to be home and I can’t wait my next adventure in Italy.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
First Week in Firenze
View from outside my apartment
Mushrooms at the Market Central! Yum
A hot Mama about to enjoy some Italian pizza!
The Duomo
my room!
fresco on our ceiling
living room
Pisa
Roomies
Thursday, September 9, 2010
New Home in Firenze
I have officially and finally settled into my new home in Via Riscoli, Firenze. My apartment has an amazing view of the Duomo and of the street below. I have three other roommates: Jodie, Amanda, and Becca. Jodie and Becca are also from Cal Poly SLO while Amanda is from Ohio. We all get along pretty well and I am so happy with my living situation. My place has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big living room, and small kitchen. I love my apartment. It is the perfect place to live in Florence.
My school’s, CEA (Cultural Experience Abroad), global campus is in the Piazza de Republica. Walking to my campus from my apartment is a less than ten minute walk and I love it. I get to admire the beautiful Duomo at least twice a day! I am currently taking five classes at CEA: 1) Italian Culture, Food, & Wine 2) Beginning Italian 3) Great Masters: Raphael, Da Vinci, Michelangelo 4) Sociology of Italy 5) History of the Medici Family. When I am not in class you can either find me sitting on the steps of the Duomo, perusing through the Mercado Centrale, or walking along the Arno. I am very spoiled here and taking advantage of all the landmarks as much as possible.
One of the highlights of Firenze is the Mercado Central. It is in the Piazza de San Lorenzo and has fresh food everyday day till 2. The market is enclosed in a huge building full of small vendors. You can find anything from meat, cheese, wine, fruit, veggies, home-made pasta, and fresh bread there. I love to explore through each section of the market and discover something new every time I go. I know I have only been there a few times, so far, but I will definitely make this a weekly routine.
On our first CEA excursion, we went to the little town of Lucca. My program took an hour train ride with a couple of our professors and went on a bike-guided tour of this Tuscan city. My roommate Jodie and I ended up riding on a “tandem” bike (a two seated bike) and had a blast. The trip was very successful and I had a great time bonding with my new roomie.
My friends, roommates, and I try to have gelato as much as possible! Our goals are to never repeat a flavor until we have tried them all and I have done just that my first week. I have never been a big fan of ice cream but gelato is in a whole different category of cold, soft, tasty desserts. Italian gelato melts in your mouth and is very delicious. I have enjoyed every bite of my all my gelatos but the flavors that I have liked the most are “crema”, “menta”, and “bacio”. I can’t wait to try even more and I am sure I will tease you all with more descriptions of them over the course of my stay.
This weekend Jodie and a group of my friends from CEA are planning a trip to Cinque Terre. We have already booked an apartment outside the town Montogrosso and are very excited for our upcoming adventure. We all hope to hike the five towns and go to the beach! I will upload photos of my first week in Firenze as soon as possible. Hugs to everyone.
P.S. I miss you mom! I had a great time with you in Italy and Europe. :) Thank you for everything.
My school’s, CEA (Cultural Experience Abroad), global campus is in the Piazza de Republica. Walking to my campus from my apartment is a less than ten minute walk and I love it. I get to admire the beautiful Duomo at least twice a day! I am currently taking five classes at CEA: 1) Italian Culture, Food, & Wine 2) Beginning Italian 3) Great Masters: Raphael, Da Vinci, Michelangelo 4) Sociology of Italy 5) History of the Medici Family. When I am not in class you can either find me sitting on the steps of the Duomo, perusing through the Mercado Centrale, or walking along the Arno. I am very spoiled here and taking advantage of all the landmarks as much as possible.
One of the highlights of Firenze is the Mercado Central. It is in the Piazza de San Lorenzo and has fresh food everyday day till 2. The market is enclosed in a huge building full of small vendors. You can find anything from meat, cheese, wine, fruit, veggies, home-made pasta, and fresh bread there. I love to explore through each section of the market and discover something new every time I go. I know I have only been there a few times, so far, but I will definitely make this a weekly routine.
On our first CEA excursion, we went to the little town of Lucca. My program took an hour train ride with a couple of our professors and went on a bike-guided tour of this Tuscan city. My roommate Jodie and I ended up riding on a “tandem” bike (a two seated bike) and had a blast. The trip was very successful and I had a great time bonding with my new roomie.
My friends, roommates, and I try to have gelato as much as possible! Our goals are to never repeat a flavor until we have tried them all and I have done just that my first week. I have never been a big fan of ice cream but gelato is in a whole different category of cold, soft, tasty desserts. Italian gelato melts in your mouth and is very delicious. I have enjoyed every bite of my all my gelatos but the flavors that I have liked the most are “crema”, “menta”, and “bacio”. I can’t wait to try even more and I am sure I will tease you all with more descriptions of them over the course of my stay.
This weekend Jodie and a group of my friends from CEA are planning a trip to Cinque Terre. We have already booked an apartment outside the town Montogrosso and are very excited for our upcoming adventure. We all hope to hike the five towns and go to the beach! I will upload photos of my first week in Firenze as soon as possible. Hugs to everyone.
P.S. I miss you mom! I had a great time with you in Italy and Europe. :) Thank you for everything.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Photos of Munich
Trying on fur hats
View from St. Michaels
More German food
the blue rider - Kandinsky
Turner
Van Gogh
Jewels of Germany
Dachau concentration camp
memorial statue
"work will set you free" - gate entering the concentration camp
Schloss Schleissheim
German fashion
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