Hello!! so much has happened since my last post just wanted to let everyone in on the AMAZING adventures I have been having! Last Friday my group to a trip to Chanti a little city outside Florence that is also close to Sienna. In Chanti we went wine tasting!! This was a first experience for myself and i must say on of the best and unique times. We started the adventure with a tour of the vineyard and cellar where we got explanations of all the different techniques used to create each bottle. It is incredible the amount of time and resources that goes into a single bottle. After the tour we had lunch, this was no ordinary lunch.... I don't know if you all are aware, but the Italians can eat! we had an at least 7 course meals with everything to pasta (which here in Italy is the first course of any meal) to prosciutto wrapped melon, bread, beans, and finally ending with salad (weird that salad is last right?! and of all things it was the saltiest thing EVER!) along with the different course wines were paired to best compliment what was being served. I felt like royalty! P.S. where we ate lunch was the top of the mountain and we got to overlook all the vineyards below...breath taking!!

Saturday morning we had a history walking tour of Florence hear we were lead around in groups to some of the most famous sites the city had to offer and got a chance to go to the Pontevecchio! This is the bridge that connects the both sides of the city! Along the bridge shopps selling jewlery line the way! After a stop for gelato (always a must becasue if you think its good trust me its ten times better than what anyone says!) Christine Chels myself and a couple others headed off to the market to do some grocery shopping. The stores here a totally differnet than anything in America. A. they are about a 5th of the size and B. everything is in italian hahaha. It was quite the experience and might i add one the most overwhelming things so far! Definitely will have to go back when I have more ideas of what to actually get!

Sunday we kind of took it easy and walked around the city shopping. Its so funny how much a like things are hear and how totally different it can be. Christine and I have decided that Italy needs a Target. Life could be so much more efficient for the Florentines! You have to go to one store for nail polish remover, one store for meats, one store for shoes, etc. Everyone we all take target the one stop shop for granted more than you know! Although, maybe that is what makes this place so great and gets you to slow down your life.

Sunday we also found a great little flea/farmers market! We felt like locals and found some really unique foods and crafts. Definitely going to have to go back from presents for all you guys at home! We cooked dinner for ourselves for the first time this night! This was quite the task and i dont think we knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into. We went for something on the easy side...PASTA! We even added mushrooms and peppers yummm! (gotta say it did not compare to anything we have had in a restaruant)

School started Monday and i was so excited to see what i was getting into! My favorite class by far is Living in Italy. The teacher teaches you practical concepts that you can take away for your time here, such as that bread is unsalted here becasue then is cannot go stale and we are never to tip becasue the staffs wages include their tips! OH and never ask for ice, there is no such thing in Italy. OH OH and spaghetti and meatballs will never get served together pasta is pasta and meat is a meat dish never to be combined if it is truly authentic! (as you can see we have only gotten to the food practicalities, priorities people haha)

Than night Chels Christine and I went out for dinner.........BEST DINNER I HAVE HAD YET IN FLORENCE! I wish that i could get across to you guys in words how amazing this dish was but I am telling you i cannot do justice to what we consumed! We got the ricotta cheese and pear ravolis. I know I know sounds a little bit odd but WOW...WOW no words to describe this. All restaurants here, or at least the good ones look like little holes in the wall but we decided to try the one closest to where we got books for classes and boy did we find a jem! Just the right blend between sweet and salty I must say!

This covers the basis of what has been going on in my life, living the italian dream! I wish you could all be here experiencing this with me but as for now pictures will have to do! I love everyone and miss you all tons!

P.S. I leave for SICILY Friday so I will have a new blog post after the weekend!!!!

Getting Settled

So as some of you might know I have successfully made it to ITALY!! My apartment is AMAZING (pictures to come). we are right in the middle of everything. Although I can say me and Beans are safe and sound for now are trip was anything but a relaxing walk in the park. We started our trip off about an hour and a half late...yeah thats never good especially when your lay over is 2 hours. We managed to get on the plane and I had the pleasure sitting next to 2 of themost entertaining women. One woman was from Iran and the other Germany! Besides the fact that the woman next to me took it upon herself to pick and both my dinner and lunch we all got along well. after much sleep we arrived in Germany 10 hours later to find out that we have exactly 15 minutes till we had to board the next plane. If anyone thinks that the German airport is at all small you are sorely mistaken I think its about a mile between each terminal!! not only were we making it from terminal C to terminal A but we had to get our passports rechecked and run through security again! Beans and I along with about 15 other people ran to the gate after security only to find that our seats had been given up. After that whole situation we went to sit and the gate for which we had standby positions on and low and behold we found one of our dear friends....PAIGE


Long story short didn't make that flight out either but
instead traveled from Frankfurt to Rome and then Rome to Florence arriving at our finall destination only 10 hours behind schedule! WOO made it to the apartment where we we warmly welcomed at roughly 1230 am Monday!... Orientation started the next day at 8.

Florence has been amazing! i cant believe how beautiful everything is! Here are some pictures of the city!!

Packing for the Adventure

I started my journey packing about a week early just to make sure that I had everything. Let me tell you something packing for 4 months in a new place is ALMOST impossible. So many seasons and weathers tht could be incurred. I decided to start with they things that were an absolute must, then i was to move onto things that could be a maybe....lets just say we never got to the maybes. My bag was fuller than full with the musts alone. Two packing jobs later...compliments of Julie (mom) we had my liggage ready to go. I wanted to leave you with a little peak at what I carried throughout LAX and up the stairs of my third story appartment. People thought I was crazy...

Can't believe I managed to make it italy with all pieces arriving!!!!