“Mr. Cigar”

Thats what they like to call my dad as we walk around San Lorenzo market!!! Well my dad as come and gone and it was an amazing week filled with sight seeing, drinking, shopping, and even a few famous people!!! First we met up at Joshua Tree and he gave me the strangest look as to why i would like it so much. But of course on Thursday night when we were there at night then he understood, and we had a blast!!! He got to meet Paolo, Julia, and Mass (the other owner) and loved them all. Saturday day after J.T. and saying good bye to all of my friends we did some walking around and had an amazing dinner at the resturant in front of the post office!! Who knew? Not me!!! Anyways it was so good we went back for our last dinner in Florence.
So the next day i took him to Eugene’s for lunch but his table’s were full so we sat somewhere else, and had i known now what i do i would of waited. Let me just tell you, we tried to eat at that darn restuarant a million times and it never worked out!! First we missed the train back, then it was closed on Thursday!!!? What??!! Then we went for one final try for lunch and that was a success! He approves and loves Eugene! Ok maybe not love, I mean its not like he’s gonna be cool with me moving in with him or anything But he likes him! After lunch i showed him the sights of Florence; the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza di Michaelangelo and so on!

The next day we went to Lucca and rented bikes and had a blast. On Tuesday we made are way to Venice!! What a good time that was, we got the best gondola guy ever!! His name was Stefano and he taught us a lot…

1. Venice is 1,600 years old
2. It is made up of, well the number escapes me, but several different small islands
3. Gondolers hate the water taix guys
4. A new gondola cost up to $50,000!!
5. My personal favorite: A gondola will last you up to 30 years and i quote “more than any wife” gotta love the Italians!!!

Anyways, after Venice we made our way to Cinque Terrre!! Which was my dad’s favorite!! It is so gorgeous!! and we had the prettiest day! I finally got to see all 5 towns which was nice. And hike the first half which is much easier than the last!! The next day we went to Siena which is a great town!! We missed the famous horse race but better than that we had lunch like 3 tables away from… ae you guys ready?….TOM HANKS!!! and his wife!! and according to my dad some other famous blonde lady, but the verdict is still out on that one!!! It was really freaking cool, i naturally was to shocked to take a pic, plus i didn’t want to be rude, so there is no proof but he was there and it was awesome!!!

Anyways after Siena we got back early and tried to eat dinner at Eugene’s, but naturally it was closed!! So we went to the place next door and then i took him to J.T. so to see what it is that i love about that place!! And now he gets it! The people are amazing and my dad was just scratching his head at all the free drinks and then getting really ansy when they closed up and we were still hanging out! It was pretty funny. I would tell Julia “my dad thinks we should leave” and she would say “Perche?” and Paolo was like “Its fine”. We finally left around 4 and took the craziest taxi ride home in either of our lives!! It was hilarious!!!

Friday we got up and found me a place to live! Then had lunch with Eugene, finally!!! Saturday we made our way to Naples, which i offcially don’t like!! It is a dirty sketchy city! AND they refuse to feed you until 8 o’clock at night!! Here we are arriving at 6, haven’t really eaten, ready to have that famous Napoli Pizza and no where to eat!!!! It was craziness!! Finally we got some and it was amazing, of course anything would of been good at that point but whatever!!

Then we said our good byes and i made my way to the city i love!! Florence!!! I’m moved in to my hotel and am doing good! Not to lonely yet! Just sucks that all the friends i made are of course here and have to work like crazy because this city is so expensive! No worries though it’ll be a cool experience! ok Well i gotta get going! Take care guys and know that i miss ya’ll!!

Ho Molto Triste!!!

I am very sad!!! That all my amazing friends from this trip are leaving me soon! But this has been an awesome trip that i will never forget and i’m so happy it’s not over yet, only a chapter of it. So sorry it has been a while since i have posted anything, its been a crazy two weeks especially with my classes ending this week! Lately, i have just been catching up on seeing museums, hanging with my friends, and homework (well some).

So last weekend we were suppose to go to Cinque Terre again but unfortunately there was yet another train strike on Friday so we couldn’t go. So instead on Saturday we went to the near by beach and had a blast! It was beautiful but definitely made me miss our beaches! I did however get an awesome tan! Then on Monday we went to one of our places for lunch where my boyfriend Eugene works and had a really good time and made plans to go dancing with him when he got off work that night. Well me and two of the girls went to meet him but he got off really late, so instead we all just went to a small bar and had drinks. It was awesome! Especially since his english is about as good as our italian!! but we got by and had a really good time! He is the cutest guy ever!

Besides my exciting boyfriend news let me just tell you guys how freaking awesome i am I definitely did not start writing my 6 page Italian Cinema class essay until and hour and a half before it was due! And guess who not only got an A+ but also got comments like “probing, excellent, and insightful”!!! ME!!! Oh my gosh i was so excited!  Thank you! Thank you!

Other than that we had our last night at Joshua Tree last night which was fun and we are going dancing with Eugene tomorrow night! Its been a really nice last week and i am so excited to see my dad this weekend but really sad to say good bye to all of my friends! ok since this chapter is coming to an end i just wanted to make a list of all the things i’m going to miss…

1. My girls “The Fantastic Four” Michelle, Veronica, and Katie!

2. Joshua Tree and my friends from there Julia, Paolo, and Simone!

3. Being able to walk everywhere!

4. Eugene! cutest waiter ever!

5. Ben or as i like to call him B-cubed (b/c his name is ben bradshaw baumker) and his quotes! he is seriously one of the funniest people i’ve ever met! 

6. the shopping! they have some really cute clothes!

7.  this city and its beauty and history! i love florence! 

8. weekend trips to amazing places! (even though this will be happening while i’m in prague)

9.   The Greek place and the Turkish place!

10. Having a place to live!! Because i may still be a little clueless on where i’m going after my dad leaves its ok guys don’t panic yet! i’ll be fine! just trust me!

ok well i gotta get going! but i will update again soon and should be able to much more often once i get my computer! love you guys and miss ya’ll! 

oh my gosh i almost forgot the story of the week! To bad when Michelle and I went to the Duomo we were walking to the bell tower to climb it. Well its 6 euros to climb so i was naturally looking for my money when out of no where this crazy gypsy walks up and thinks i’m getting her money!! She was all like “Grazie signora” So i turn to avoid her and no lie if she doesn’t just go off and slap me open handed on my back!! And i’m not talking a soft slap here she definitely put some power behind it!! I just stood there in complete shock!!! Isn’t that crazy!! Only me would get beat up by a gypsy! What the heck? So needless to say i officially hate gypsies! ok now i really have to go! love you guys!

Things I miss Part 2

So after my first list of things I miss, I realized there were a few more really good ones…

11. Screened Windows! One night after no sleeping from the mosiquitos, my roommate and i seriously turned into crazed maniacs killing about 20 in the end!!! I hate mosiquitos!

12. Toilet seats! Enough said there

13. Privacy! One I don’t like sharing a room. And two my roommate has decided to take up snoring now! And I’m not talking kitty purr here folks, its like bear roaring!! Like trying to compete with the vespas kinda loud!! Karma officiallly hates me

14. Dryers! When your jeans are stiff enough you can stand them up on their own its never a good thing!

15. Publix, Target, Kohl’s and JC Pennys!! i miss you all! I like when a grocery store will actually give you more than 1 bag for all of your groceries!! but my favorite is when the watermelon is put on top of everything, bread and all!!! What? I need a bag for the watermelon and i need a bag for the rest of it! Thats all i’m asking

16. Condiments! Fries are suppose to have ketchup, sandwhiches are suppose to have mustard and mayo, and bread should have butter! These things are not meant to be alone!!

17. The River!!! Catch some scallops, eat some scallops, and drink an ICE COLD BEER for me please!!!!

18. Florida Beaches! I love our white soft sand and warm Gulf! The water here is amazing but my god is it cold!

19. Pedicures! My poor feet! There is no help for them! This place is just not good for the feet!

20. Home cooking and Sweet Tea!!! i know this is the second time i’ve mentioned food but home cooking needs to be mentioned, and i would list some but that list is way to long!

Ok love you guys! Soon I’ll have a list of things i’ll miss about Italy, but for now these are the ones i miss from home! I love ya’ll and love reading your comments thanks guys! Take care!

Things I miss!

OK so this is just a blog on things i miss from home!

1. The obvious, family and friends, this includes Oscar

2. AC!!!!They don’t believe in AC and its hot people take my word on it!

3.  ICE!! Worse yet, even if your hot you don’t ever get a decent cold drink. I haven’t had an ice cold drink yet!!!

4. Furniture made for normal size people, not midgets!!! Can i please have a couch and not a love seat wanna be!

5. An actual bed, not a cot that wouldn’t even be found in a prison!

6. Personal space! Oh how i miss you!

7. Food variety! There are other cuisines out there I swear that their good don’t be afraid Italy!!

8. Punctualness! i know i can sometimes run a little behind but a 3 hour dinner that consist of just pasta and water is absurd!

9. Orginization! My school has yet to do something organized! Every function always turns into a (excuse my language) Cluster Fudge!

and last but not least…

10. Quiet! I just want one night without the noise of trucks and vespas zooming by!

 Don’t get me wrong though I still love it here! It just takes adjusting and some venting

Rome

Well its Sunday afternoon and I’m just enjoying the laziness of it all! Washing clothes, relaxing, updating my blog, and so on. Especially after this past trip. First I’ll start with Wednesday night because Veronica and I decided since we had to be ready to meet the bus as 5:15 am why not pull an all night-er, and thats just what we did! We went to Joshua Tree and didn’t leave until 4am then got home showered and made our way to the bus. Slept the 4 hour ride to Rome and then saw an old Movie Studio, which i found very disappointing tired or not, and then went to our hotel. After finally getting the room situation figured out, i had a room with AC and a bed that i can actually consider a bed not a cot like here in Florence!!! So I was in for a nap, whether or not everyone else was seeing the sights or not! And let me just tell you it was the best nap of my life and totally worth missing the Colosseum, plus I’ll be back in a few weeks anyways.

So after my nap and a nice shower I met up with everyone else and we headed to dinner!!! Are you guys ready… wait for it…. HARD ROCK CAFE!!! Oh my gosh i can’t even explain how exciting this dinner was!! Finally American food!!!! I had Nachos and a bacon cheese hamburger and free refills on my coke!!!! It was awesome!! Seriuosly a person can only eat so much pasta and pizza a day! The Italians really need to work on variety! Actually my two favorite resturants here in Florence aren’t even Italian, they are Greek and Turkish!!

 So the next day in Rome we all got up early and headed to the Vatican. After about 5 hours of waiting we finally made it in. It was nice and all but way to crowded and I’m not into the whole group tour thing so me and my friend Ben broke off and saw the Vatican our way, quickly Sistine Chapel is amazing, but the Vatican is something i would only want to do once! Well after that and lunch i again took advantage of my AC and good bed and took another nap!! I don’t sleep very well here so i might as well do it in Rome! That night all 130 of us students had a really nice dinner, which was amazing! Wow, I’m just realizing that all i did in Rome was sleep and eat!! Hahaha! I guess its because I’ve been once before and i know I’ll be back so i wasn’t in a rush to see everything, that and I’m just not a city girl. That’s why on Saturday when a group was going to Ostia, the beach close by, I was totally in! And that my friends was amazing! Beautiful beach and gorgeous weather made for a perfect day, better than any day in the city, even if it is Rome in my opinion. I got an awesome tan and loved the beach!  So now I am back in my beautiful city Florence, which i actually really missed, and enjoying my Sunday! Hope you guys are good and know that i miss all of ya’ll!! Wish ya’ll were here!

 Oh and Terri that shot is called a Colutorio, it means mouthwash in Italian! It has Sambuca and a mint liquer in it! Its set on fire then someone puts it out with their hand and shake it, because it sticks to the hand! Then you take it and after you swallow your suppose to put your pointer finger to your lips and suck in as hard as you can! Its crazy and really strong! Good luck and don’t get burned Love ya!

Cinque Terre!

So this past weekend was amazing!! A group of us went to a place called Cinque Terre, which is by far one the most beautiful places i have ever been!! It is a group of small towns on the coast of Italy not to far from Florence. There are hiking trails to get from town to town! The view is breathtaking but so is the hike!! We unfortunatley got lost so ended up getting there late. So instead of walking all of them we went to the beach town first to swim in the Mediterranean Sea which was freezing but awesome! Even though one of the girls no lie said “Oh its salt water i thought this was freash water” WHAT??? Did that just happen?!! Anyways, after some swimming and sun bathing we started on the hike. Which was the hardest of them all!! It was all stairs and small pathways for an hour and a half!!! Still worth it though, and i can’t wait to go back! Which we are going to do next weekend and stay for a night or two, because we want to have a day to hike the whole thing and then a day for the beach with kayaking and cliff jumping!! I’m so excited!!! I have some pictures but am having problems down loading them with all the computer problems at this school! But as soon as i can i will put them on the web i promise.

On Sunday we went to a town called Fiesole which is at the top of Florence and gives the best view of the entire city!! That was really nice! Other than that i have just exploring florence and going to class! This Thursday we leave for our weekend in Rome! So that will be so much fun! It is going by so quickly! But i’m loving every minute of it! Also Sunday night me and two other girls were invited to a big neighborhood dinner by our bartender friend, Julia! it was so cool!! Surrounded by itlains eating and drinking and then there was dancing at the end!! We did the YMCA and some italian line danceing, similar to the electric slide! It was such a cool expericene and the exact thing i came for!!! We are still going to our bar and hanging out with our friends! Its great! Ok well i gotta go the girls are waiting to for me to get lunch! Turkish!!One of our favorites!!!! Yummy! Ok love you guys and i miss ya’ll!

I’m a Dumbass!!

Ok so my weekend was pretty amazing!! It started off kind of bad with crappy weather and a very bad bus ride but ended on a good note!!! The Chianti tour was very disappointing! It rained and was freezing all day long and there was no real vineyard that we got to see or wine tasting! There was just a free lunch with some wine! The scenery was gorgeous but the nauseating bus ride i could of done with out!!! As for Venice, that was amazing!!! Even with crappy weather it is gorgeous there! Me and the five other girls that live in my building all went together! We got a gondola ride and fed the crazy pigeons!! Which was one of my favorite parts! I bought an authentic massacre mask and a touristy t-shirt! Anyways Sunday was still cloudy and we were all tired so we all had a chill day and stayed in Florence, which was nice! So every night we have been going out to our now hot spot, The Joshua Tree Pub which is a blast!!! We have become friends with the owner, the bartender and the bouncer who i have a total crush on! Its great we even get to stay after hours to chill with all of them, which is fun, but makes for long nights! Totally worth it though!Solast night was a blast but i am officially a dumbass and never again allowed near hot things!! Ok so here is the story of the weekend…

 Every time we go to our pub we always have this Italian shot, the name escapes me right now, but it has sambuca and mint in it and its lit on fire! Anyways Paolo, the bouncer, will put it out with his hand and then you take it. Well last night he was outside when we were having them and none of the girls wanted to do it, so what the hell i go for it!!! Not even thinking about the fact that its been sitting there getting hot!!!! HELLO REBECCA? Your suppose to do it immediately not after its smoldering hot!!  Needless to say i burned the crap out of my hand, its blistered and everything! I had to hold ice all night long and just drink the pain away! Its kinda funny now because i have a perfect blistered ring on my palm from the rim of the glass!!! I know i’m a moron!!!! Live and learn and heck now i’ll have something to always remember the Joshua tree with!! Because this baby is definitely scarring!!! Ok well i should get going love you guys!!!

First Week Update!!

Eight blisters, one bad homesick day, and crappy weather has lead to an interesting first week. However, italian sandals from a market, a call home to mom, and an appreciation for all the jackets I brought has made everything better. I am now in all my classes which have turned out to be great and have been exploring this beautiful city. My first Friday night I party a little to much and so i missed the trip to Lucca on Saturday but it was totally worth it! Besides I plan on going sometime in the future because its only a small day trip. On Sunday I experienced my first Italian soccer game, and had a blast! The Italians really know how to watch a game, plus we won 5 to 1!!! I have also cooked my first meal, by myself on a gas stove! Which for those of you who know me know how amazing this small task is It was great my very own spaghetti! I was also able to go to Pirates 3 which was great not only because its a good movie but it also gave a feeling of being at home. Well exploring the city has been great except it began rainy a few days ago!! And unlike Florida it gets COLD!!!! Which in all honesty was a nice change since it has been so hot. Today, however, it is beginning to clear up and warm up, which is perfect because this weekend we have some great plans. Friday is a Chianti tour with wine tasting, Saturday is a day in Venice and Sunday is a day at the beach!! I can’t wait!! Ok well I have an Italian quiz to go take! Sorry this one took so long tp post, it has been crazy with internet not working and what not! But i’ll be sure to try and update it more! Check in next week to see how my weekend goes! Love you guys and miss ya’ll!

“Here at Last! Here at Last!”

“Thank God All Mighty I’m Here at Last!” After the packing was done, the goodbyes being said, and the tears shed I thought I was ready for my journey ahead. And I was for the most part, I had no problems with planes, trains, or taxis. Which I consider myself lucky since a bunch of students are still not here due to an airport strike! So my journey would have been smooth if it wasn’t for that 75 pound, clothing filled, pink nemesis of mine….MY LUGGAGE!!! “Why luggage? Why?” As I sit here and write this I am still sore from the struggle the two of us shared. Maneuvering around on the trains and even the streets was no easy task, not to mention the looks of crazy I received. I wanted to wear a sign that read “”I’m here for 9 months people! Cut me some slack!” But I couldn’t and I didn’t so endure the stares I did. However, after all is said and done I’m glad to have all my stuff with me, and still don’t know what i would of left behind. Anyways, now that I am here and settled in I am so excited. I have already met some amazing people. All the students in my building are great and we are talking about going to the last Florence soccer game this Sunday. But best of all is my roommate, i really lucked out she is great. She actually reminds me of Jessica with her eyes and mannerisms!! Which honestly helps me feel at home So as I sit here on my second night in Florence and my first night in my apartment the nerves are fading and I am really excited about this trip!! Well I should go but I’ll try to update this like once a week so be sure to check it out! Take care guys and know that I miss all of ya’ll!!

Leaving tomorrow!

Hi guys! Well I may be a bit drunk  (or a lot bit) but thats cool! I’m enjoying my last night! I went to Vallartas!! Had amazing magaritas with my family who I am going to miss so much! Soon i leave for Italy then to Prague! I can’t wait! I will be sure to keep in touch! I am going on record as saying that i will miss my family, all of them (including my cat) more than any of them will know!! I love you guys so much!! Can’t wait to see ya’ll!! See ya’ll soon and keep in touch!