At least I don't look 16...

Alright, so I know this post is a few days delayed and I am being extremely lazy but it's all this nice weather we are having in Florence, it has been in 70's the past 3 days... soooo nice! We walk around in shorts and sun dresses because we are sweating on our way to class and all the Italians are still in their sweaters and scarves with their jackets zipped up like it's freezing outside. They all look at us Americans like we are crazy.

So, like I said before I am being really lazy with this post and am re-routing you to my fabulous friend and roommate's blog because well she is hysterical and wrote a very accurate post about our past weekend in Munich, Germany. I literally love Germany and Munich is by far one of my favorite cities in Europe. The city is so clean, safe, and new because it was all re-built after WWII and the city is so safe that 5 year old can walk themselves to and from schools and even ride public transportation alone. Okay... here's the link... check it out and you will see how amazing our weekend was in Germany. We loved it so much that we were greatly considering going back again this weekend for another round of Beerfest!

http://takenbytoday.blogspot.com/2010/04/spring-beerfest-2010-munich-germany.html

A very accomplished day!

Quote of the Day: "There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." Epictetus

So, today was a very good day!

I woke up, watched American TV (yes, I found a website to watch shows from the U.S.)! Then went to Ganzo and ate a delicious chicken and broccoli calzone with chocolate cake for dessert. I then decided it was time to see the Michelangelo's original and real David at the Academia. The museums are all free this week so I decided it was a great time to go see it and luckily I only had to wait in line for 20 minutes. The statue was huge! There are other fake David statues though at Pizzale Michelangelo and Piazza Signoria and they are just not as impressive as the real one. I then decided since it was a sunny day it was about time to climb the Duomo. I climbed the tower about a month ago but I had yet to go up into the dome. 463 steps later, I had made it to the top. Phewwww, the stairways are soooo narrow and soooo small and soooo windy! It's crazy and rather difficult because people are both trying to go up and down at the same time (very poor planning!) Although, the views are all worth the huffing and puffing on the way up. Florence is absolutely gorgeous. Then today was also the second day, I went running. I ran for thirty minutes in the park and it felt amazing (yes, tiring because I haven't worked out in like 3 months but it still felt very good). The release of the endorphins just makes me feel so alive and the weather has been gorgeous lately so I just can't pass up the opportunities. I plan on running from now on because well, bathing suit season is coming up and I really need to start working off all the cakes, gelato, and pasta!

Then my friend Brittany's 21st birthday was this past Sunday so of course we had to go out for a birthday celebration dinner! :) We went to a restaurant called Acqua al 2, which is owned by the same owner as The Diner and they also have locations in Washington D.C. and San Diego. I had steak with blueberry sauce, very different but very delicious. This is like the first time in 4 months that I have had steak and well I realized that I really do not miss it that much. I could live without it and I have eaten a lot of seafood and mostly vegetables/ pasta/ bread here so like I wonder if I'll eat red meat when I get back in the states?!?!

Finally a weekend in Florence...

We finally were able to spend a weekend in Florence and we had a whole agenda planned out for it of what we wanted to do and although everything didn't go exactly as planned, we still had so much fun. It was nice to finally not be traveling on a bus, train, or boat, using a map to get around, taking a 3 hour long walking tour, or taking a million and one pictures of monuments. I'll fill you in on a few highlights of the weekend...

1. I LOST MY PHONE. I know I said it got stolen and essentially it did but I lost it before it got stolen. I have this little clutch that falls loosely on my shoulder and Friday night when we were walking home I was taking pictures and it must have fallen off my shoulder and I didn't realize. I suddenly stopped in the street and freaked when I realized I didn't have it anymore. We re-traced our steps but it was ultimately GONE FOREVER! Luckily, the only thing in the little clutch was my phone and 5 euro. I frantically felt my pockets and thank goodness I had taken my camera and keys (the two most important things) out of my clutch earlier. Oh well, hopefully I'll have my phone replaced by Monday.

2. Kristen, our friend from Rome came to visit for the weekend and we had soooo much fun with her and did lots and lots of shopping! I actually finished up all my souvenir shopping!

3. Friday night was one of the BEST nights ever at our favorite bar, AMADEUS. Although, sadly we found out that the owner just sold the bar to someone else so all our favorite bartenders will be there no longer. :(

4. We took away PIZZA and saw the sunset at Pizzale Michelangelo. Well, we kind of missed the sunset a little bit because the pizza we TOOK AWAY was on the other side of the city but it was still amazing to sit on the steps and eat our pizza and see night fall. It was the funniest thing ever to walk through the city (3 American girls with 3 pizza boxes). So many people asked if they could have some and they were laughing so much at us. They do have take away pizza here but it is very rare and you definitely stand out running through the city with pizza boxes!

5. We went to American Diner again and I had the most amazing veggie burger made with spinach, onions, and broccoli and of course FRENCH FRIES with HEINZ ketchup! We actually all had burgers, you can tell we really miss home!

6. We met a girl from Australia who was traveling in Europe but who lives in Australia but is originally from America. She studied abroad in Australia while in college, met a boy, fell in love, finished school in America and then moved back to Australia. She talked about how much she loved it, and I had been thinking about going to Australia and now I really want to. I don't know if I could be abroad for another semester though, but who knows... maybe after I graduate?!?!

7. This beautiful weather in Florence is not helping my studies. I just can't resist going outside when the weather is so nice. So I have decided to spend as much time outside during the day and will be staying up later at night to do all my work.

8. The volcano in Iceland is a terrible thing. Many of our friend's parents who were due to visit this week cannot fly over. One of my roommate's parent's were in Spain all last week and were due to fly to Florence on Saturday but because of the volcano, the Florence airport shut down all incoming flights to Italy. I feel really bad but there is nothing anyone can do. Hopefully it clears up soon or we'll all be in trouble when it comes time to fly home.

9. I love staying in Florence on the weekends because that means we can go to BRUNCH at Ganzo. The brunch at school back home will never compare to the brunch in Florence!

10. I fall more in love with this city everyday. As much as I'm excited to come home, it will be really hard to leave.

We finally rode the Carousel!

With only 30 days left in Florence, we are trying to make the most of everyday. We even have a list on our bulletin board of all things we still want to do in our remaining days. Last night, we accomplished just one more thing on our list... ride the carousel in Piazza del Repubblica! It was so much fun, made me feel like a kid again! Funny thing is... we were the only ones on the Carousel!

Let's go back to Thursday...

I love Thursdays. Especially this past one because we made chocolate cake and souffle in chocolate class, went to our favorite wine bar to enjoy wine, lunch, and the sunshine, we tried new gelato ice pops, shopped all afternoon (I got a new dress and jumpsuit!), and tried a new bar called Art Bar where their drinks really are a piece of art. I'm not going to write too much because the pictures explain it all...

Free AMERICAN Coffee on Wednesdays!

So, last week Wednesday we went to The Diner which is like your all American Diner and I was so excited when we got there because there was a sign outside that read, FREE AMERICAN COFFEE ON WEDNESDAYS, and the day just happened to be Wednesday. I have not had real American Coffee since being here in Florence. I have had a few Espresso shots now and then but not a real big cup of coffee. Everyone had been raving about this place and we had to try it! The menu was in English, thank goodness! The walls are pink and the food is soooo good! Probably the first real American food I've had since being here. I know that you are all thinking that I'm in Italy and should not be eating American food but sometimes you just have to give in. I cannot tell you how good the HEINZ ketchup tastes and the 100% maple syrup. So, we went to the Diner last week for breakfast and that's what the pictures are from but it was so good last week that we decided to go again this week and get scrambled eggs and french toast! I love Italy sooo much but there are just some things I really miss from back home. I also learned that the man who owns the diner, started it when he was 18 and he also owns another dinner type restaurant with one location in Florence and one is actually in San Diego and he is about to go back to the U.S. to start another one in Washington D.C. He is a very smart man!

Only 34 days left in Florence! It's hard to believe that time has flown by soooo fast! We plan on the making the most of our remaining days in Florence though. I am so excited to finally be spending a full weekend in Florence, we have so much planned and the weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous and in the 70's all weekend. Although, a few weeks left of classes = work, papers, presentations, and preparing for finals. It is nearly impossible to do work in Italy. Although, I have 1 paper compete already which means I only have 4 left.

Another amazing weekend in Italy...

Traveling is a lot of fun but very exhausting too. I have never felt so tired in my entire life. I love traveling but I also love my sleep which I have not been getting very much of either. Poor Emily is stuffed up which makes her snore and those of you who know me, know that I CANNOT sleep at all when someone snores like at all. I've been trying to sleep with my headphones in but that really hasn't been working so I'm exhausted. I also realized today that we have only been in Florence for 12 out of the past 30 days. That means for the other 18 days we have been in other parts of Italy or out of the country traveling on ships, trains, and buses. Sleeping on ships, trains, buses, and an occasional hostel or hotel. Therefore, this coming weekend we are spending it in Florence and I could not be more excited. Although as time is winding down, there are papers to write so I must start buckling down and actually doing some work this week. Okay, enough complaining! This past weekend was by far one of the best weekends so far in Italy.

We awoke Friday morning at 4:45AM (yes, you on the east coast were probably all still awake). It's crazy to think that some nights, I go to bed and wake up before some of you even go to sleep. We departed at 6am for a supposedly 5 hour bus ride to Torino which turned into 6 hours because the GPS was trying to take the coach buses up a nearly impossible road. We got stuck a few times and then realized we were not going to make it up so had to back all the way back down. It was amusing but the bus drivers do an excellent job and I honestly do not know how they maneuver those buses around corners the way they do. We finally found a semi-easier route and were able to check into our hotel. We then took a walking tour of Torino (the capital of Piedmont, a region in the northwest of Italy). We only took a tour of the city center and I felt like we were just walking in circles around the city center. The city was nice though, it was very clean and reminded me of a city back home, it had some good shopping, some GREAT gelato, but most of all it had the SUN. It was such a gorgeous day in the city. We would have been happy just sitting in the piazza soaking up the sun. We then visited The Valentino Park or the park of love. It was a beautiful park and full of lovers and lots of little children (who I took pictures of!). We headed back to the hotel for dinner (cafeteria style)... worst food I've had since I've been here in Italy unfortunately. :( We went to bed quickly as we had to be on the road again at 8AM the next morning.

Saturday was another great day, it started off at the Egyptian Museum which was quite interesting but I was sooo tired I could barely stay awake, our tour guide was mono-tone which didn't help, and I spent so much time in the Egyptian exhibits at the Louvre that I felt like I already seen everything. The afternoon made up for it though because we transferred to Azienda Rossotto (which was about 30km outside of the city center) for a tour of the vineyards and wine cellar, a wine tasting with a paired lunch. We were up in the hillside with gorgeous views, the sun was shining, we tried four different wines paired with quiche, bread, salami, cheese, and dessert. Each wine was paired with a different tasting. I couldn't have asked for a better day not to mention that the weather was perfect again. I sometimes wondered why vineyards like this one would want a bunch of young kids coming to visit and then at the end, my question was answered... we practically bought all of the wine they had in stock at their store. They know we will BUY and that's exactly why they love for us to come and visit, people will ALWAYS make money off of us.

So, if the last two days were not early enough, Sunday morning we had to be on the bus and ready to go by 5:30AM. We had a four hour bus ride though to Cinque Terre (a series of 5 towns on the Eastern coast of Italy) so I was able to fall fast asleep and when we arrived to Cinque Terre I was wide awake and ready to go. We took a train from La Spezia to Monterosso which is the northernmost village of Cinque Terre. We then hiked to Vernazza (a 2 hour uphill and downhill path). The hike was like on the edge of the cliff and some parts were really scary and you had to constantly watch your step. One girl stepped too far off to the edge and a loose rock must have given out and she actually fell (luckily, only into thorns and bushes) and luckily there were some other hikers and some guy was able to climb down and pull her out with his walking stick, I was so scared for her but she stayed so calm and luckily only ended up with a few scratches). If I had been her, I definitely would have been screaming at the top of my lungs. The hike was well worth it though when we reached Vernazza, take a look at my pictures on Facebook, it is so beautiful and I know I keep saying that about every place I go but seriously every weekend, it keeps getting better and better. We had pesto pizza for lunch (Cinque Terre is famous for their pesto). We then took another train to the next town, Manarola, after spending some time by the water there, we then hiked to to Riomaggiore along the famous Via dell'Amore. All of the cities are beautiful and I really do not know how to explain them but it's nothing like I have ever seen before. Italy really is a beautiful country and it has so many different things to offer. By far this was one of my favorite weekends.

I want to go back to Corfu.

TRAVEL- So, Thursday morning we departed for Corfu, Greece. Now, it's an Extremely long process to get to Corfu But Completely worth it. It Was by far the BEST weekend yet. So, we boarded the bus at 9am and Florence Took about 4 and a half hour bus ride to the eastern coast of Italy to the port of Ancona Where We then boarded Our cruise ship to Igoumenitsa, Greece. We finally departed at 4:30 pm Were read and to embark on the 14 hour cruise. Our roommates Went to Greece last weekend and Said That the 40 euros for a cabin upgrade WAS Probably one of the best Investments They HAD made. So, We Were One Of The Few Lucky Ones Who Had a cabin Which WAS Basically just a room in the lower part of the bed But It contained 2 bunk beds and a bathroom. It Was Just Really Nice to Have a legit bed and pillow and blanket to lay down on. The cruise ship packed Because WAS sooo many Greeks Were going to Greece for the Easter holiday weekend and the cruise ship overbooked Did not even know most people Have a seat on the boat and HAD to resort to hallways and the floor. We got dinner on the cruise ship, Walked around for awhile But I know we were so Exhausted Decided to head to bed early. Although, I did not really get the best sleep Because It Was SOOO HOT! We Kept waking up and HAVING to open the door Because There Was no air circulation. We Sept. Our alarms But We Did not really need to Because We Were awoken by a pounding on the door and were so confused Because time HAD jumped ahead one hour. The pounding on the door WAS Followed by then it opened and Being Being flipped the light on to wake us up as Were Only about an hour away from the port in Igoumenitsa. We finally docked and it Was a mad dash to catch Our next ferry to the actual island of Corfu. We Were Told It Was an 8 minute walk But It was really more like 25 minutes to catch the next ferry. We traveled with Euroadventures (our tour group) and we Where the only group to make the 9:30 ferry. The other two groups HAD to wait until 11:15. Euroadventures is on Top of Their Game and literally He Was Yelling at me and Emily to run to get on the ferry and as soon as we got on, we Looked Back and We Were Already moving, leaving behind the other two groups. There Was This weekend about 500 students from Rome, Florence, Barcelona and going to Greece. We then Took a 1 hour and 45 minute ferry to Corfu and then you guessed it, we boarded buses for Another 20-minute ride to The Opposite Side Of The Island to The Pink Palace WHERE WAS Awaiting us. So, all and all, the total travel time on the way There Was about 27 hours Because we Arrived at the Pink Palace around noon time.

THE PINK PALACE- Literally EVERYTHING is PINK. I love the Pink Palace as pink is my favorite color. All the buildings are pink, it looks kind of like Barbie World. They even Have a PINK boat. Although there is a couple buildings are white That Which Is One of the ones we stayed in and I Was disappointed at first But Once I saw the view from our balcony Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, I Was No longer complaining. Once we checked in, we QUICKLY changed and headed down to the beach. Acted like complete idiots there we laid out an on the beach for 4 hours with no sunscreen on or anything. And the sun WAS intense! There Was not a cloud in the sky. WORST mistake ever (WE were so sunburned!) And for the next 3 days we suffered. The next day, we finally Decided to buy Some type of sunscreen But It Was soo expensive, like $ 20 dollars or more for a tiny little bottle. By That point though, all the damage HAD Already Been Done. After spending a relaxing afternoon at the beach, we really needed to shower and get ready for That Evening's Toga Party!

THE TOGA PARTY- So Basically, the Pink Palace Holds a Toga Party For Each new tour group Arrives That Which MEANS That Could Potentially Be A Few toga parties there a week. What you do is buy a Pink Sheet for 12 euros (you and when to return it, you get 10 euros back). You have to turn That pink sheet into a toga, Which let me tell you is quite Difficult But so much fun. The sheet is satin and I know it is Rather Difficult Our roommates warned us last week to bring safety pins, etc. .. wb Emily WAS Determined to do it with no assistance although we did end up using a couple Because It Was Rather difficult. Also used in the belt to help keep the robe on as well. Everybody shows up in togas for tea party (even tea guys!) We Had Some guys to help out as They Were Rather Clueless When It Came to creating a toga. Although, it's a lot Easier for Them as They Do not Have to cover up as much as we girls did. Everyone headed down for dinner at The Pink Palace Paladium Which is like the majors' main dining hall upstairs and a downstairs bar and club. The dinner was amazing and so much fun Because It Was a room full of PINK with everyone dressed up in togas Their. We got soup, salad, bread, and a main meal. Probably one of the best meals ever! After dinner, we headed downstairs Began Where the real party. We danced the night away in Our pink togas, It Was Probably one of the best nights yet! There Was Like an intermission performance Thing Which included two Greek Dancing, Ouzo rounds of shots for everyone, and plate smashing (They smash on the floor and over people's heads ... I'm not sure Exactly The Meaning behind it But It Was funny although I Could not work up the nerve to Have a plate smashed over my head). It Was a late, late night and we HAD to wake up REALLY EARLY the next morning.

ATVing- Our tour leader Told us to wake up at 6:30 am and be down at reception by 6:45 if we wanted a chance of signing up for the Activities That the Pink Palace offers (sign up and doesn't even begin until 8am) . So, we literally Ourselves Practically Forced out of bed and rolled down the hill to sign Up Where We Found Out That reception doesn't open until 7 so we sat outside and Waited. Then We Waited, Waited, and Waited some more inside until 8am When We Were Able to finally get in line to sign up. We signed up for the Quad Safari and were so happy we got up early to get in line Because There Is a very limited amount of spots and not everyone gets to go, There Were definitely in line Who Were people disappointed. We were lucky enough though and Were Able to Our reserve spots. We then HAD A Few hours to kill before the safari Began know we headed down to the beach to grab Which Some breakfast consisted of eggs, ham, cheese, and bread. Were we then geared and ready to get going on Our safari. You can rent your own ATV But we really wanted to do the safari Because The guides take you out to the best spots all over the island and You Do not Have to worry about looking at a map or getting lost. So, we headed out and It Was sooooooooooooooo much FUN! I Have never drove an ATV before and even though it WAS a small 50 cc one, It Was Such a blast. Probably one of the best days ever. Could we go as slow or as fast as we wanted, We Were Taken to beautiful beaches and amazing view points Overlooking the sea and island. In Greece, you're allowed to drive ATV's on the road I know it's Completely normal. At first, I Was like afraid to drive on the road But it's a quick and easy way to get around the island. We got to drive like on a major road and go as fast as we wanted Which WAS Sadly only 50km an hour But off-roading WAS the best. The first time we did it WAS kind of scary, But then I got more comfortable on the ATV and all I wanted to WAS off-road. We Went uphill and downhill, on cliffs, over rocks, through Ditches. 5 hours later after a lunch break and stopping to fill up for gas, WHERE we back at the Pink Palace for dinner and although That Was not Ready For A Few more hours, I know we Decided to get ice cream to hold us over! :) We showered and got ready for dinner and Another amazing Another great night at the club. Luckily, We Were Able To Sleep in a little bit The next morning, and Were Able to relax and enjoy Our last day at the Pink Palace. Although, They forced us to get back on the buses at 5pm. I never wanted to leave, I Seriously Considered Not Getting back on the boat and just staying at the Pink Palace and Hoping They Would give me a job and then I Never Would Have to leave. THE JOURNEY HOME- I know the journey home WAS Supposed To Be The Same as the journey to Corfu But It Took just a little bit longer (well, Actually a lot Longer). So, We All Took the bus back to the port in Corfu, we all got on the ferry back to the mainland of Greece, and we all got on the cruise ship and headed back to Italy even though the ship WAS like an hour late picking WHERE us know we up Already off to a late start. The cruise ship WAS fun though, we Decided not to go to sleep early and stayed up, drank Some wine out on the deck, and hung out with Some really cool people. We finally made it to bed But Were A Few hours later awoken by the heavy rocking of the boat as we WHERE going through a storm and the water was really rough. I Walked around the boat for a bit in order to settle my stomach and WAS Able to Fall Asleep For A Few more hours. Then, we are about 40 minutes from land When we find out That We Are not going to dock for 2 more hours Because there's too much fog or something and we can not dock. The boat was really rocking now though Because They Turned off the engines and WHERE we just sitting and waiting to dock. We finally did though 2 hours later and then boarded the bus to head back to Florence, we Figuring Would Be Back Within A Few Hours But It Was holiday (Easter Monday) and in Canada Therefore There Was soooo much traffic. A drive That was Supposed to take about 3 and half hours ended up Taking 7. But by 9:30, we finally WHERE back in Florence. Although, we are sitting here reminiscing about Greece and the Pink Palace and are crying about how much we just want to go back. Oh well ... we can not have fun all the time. Although, we're only here for a Few days and I only have 2 classes for the Entire week and we're off again on Friday to Turin & Cinque Terre for the weekend I know I Should not be complaining. Although I think I Should thinking about writing my final papers. And I just changed my flight too Officially I'll be coming home on May 18th? :)