Ciao everyone!
I have finally set up a website and uploaded all my pictures I have taken thus far.
The below link will take you to my picasa profile. There are albums separated by location. Just click on the albums and browse through the pictures.
Christina's Italy Pictures
I will also post this link on the side of this blog under my profile picture so you can click on it anytime. I will be updating it periodically as I visit new places.
I understand some of you are still unsure about how to leave a comment on here. Scroll down to the end of my post and click "comments". Fill in your name where it says name and leave the URL blank. write your comment in the larger box, then in the "comment as" drop-down list, just select "Name/URL". Hopefully that will work for you all.
I went to Padova yesterday. It was extremely hot but I enjoyed my time there. I experienced my first Italian cathedral and was quite overwhelmed. I can't imagine how Rome will be next week. I will write more about my time in Padova later. Tomorrow I am planning on going to Marostica during the afternoon and Bassano del Grappa for some night life. This weekend is our first long weekend where we get Friday off. I am planning a trip to Florence with my friends Danielle, Katie, and Maria. You should see them in some of my pictures.
I made an 88 on my first law test and I have my second law test/first Finance quiz on Thursday. I also have a Finance assignment due that day. I am learning so much about the stock market and investing... I never thought I would be so interested! I am still loving my classes and professors. They are clearly the best of the best. It is just hard to balance classes, studying, sleeping, and traveling all at once. I can't believe the term is nearly halfway over!!
Ciao!
PS... An extremely friendly Italian boy was giving out free kisses at the hotel bar last night. Quite the souvenier :)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
La Spezia, Pisa, and Cinque Terre!
Cinque Terre & Pisa pictures (many more to come!)
For those of you who don't know about Cinque Terre, it is a cluster of five small towns built on the cliffs of the Liguarian Sea coastline. They have become a huge tourist spot and are also a great weekend getaway for the Italians. From north to south, the towns are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The map above should help clarify. The red A is where our first hostel was located in relation to La Spezia.
What an adventure! We set out on a five hour bus ride from Paderno to La Spezia Friday afternoon. The bus was crowded with CIMBA students and had no air conditioning. Alberto, who had arranged the ride for us, was not riding with us but gave us a sheet with phrases such as "Please wait, my friend is not on the bus" and "Please stop, there is a problem" etc. so that we could communicate with the bus driver. The trip was a steal, only costing us 60 euros (I spoke with some people who did their own thing and it cost them around 75 euros with the added stress of canceled trains) but the bus was crowded and the air conditioning did not work. Needless to say it was a long trip, but definitely a great view of the changing countryside between the east and west of Italy.
The plan was for the bus driver to drop us off at the La Spezia Centrale train station, but we arrived in the city right in the middle of Friday night traffic. It was horrible. I did not like La Spezia at all... it was very dirty and I did not feel safe. Due to the traffic, the bus driver drove until he could not get through the streets anymore and basically unloaded 60 American college students and our bags in the middle of the city. After getting over the initial shock of it all, We figured out where the Centrale station was and made our way there. This is where me, Krista, Jaime and Courtney split from everyone else.
Because we knew we were arriving in La Spezia at night and we wanted to go south to Pisa in the morning, we booked a hostel in La Spezia for Friday night. Krista went into a hotel near the train station and asked them to call a cab which came immediately. Courtney showed the driver the address and he proceeded to take us about 15 minutes up the mountain and out of the city. This is where I really started to get scared. I trusted Courtney's booking skills, but I was starting to wonder how much further the hostel was, especially with the cab fare ticking away. The cab driver dropped us off at a pizzeria in the middle of the Piano di Valeriano Village. There were people on the patio of the pizzeria who understood we were looking for the hostel and pointed us in the right direction. The Locanda la Pergola Hostel was above the pizzeria, and we checked in with a man who spoke English. I honestly couldn't tell if he was from England or Australia. He was very nice and explained there had been a double booking, so we needed to wait for a woman who also worked there to return. She returned and also spoke English, but I believe she was Italian. They were both extremely nice and explained that they were going to give the three girls one room and Jaime his own room for the price of one. We agreed and explained we wanted to leave early for Pisa and we needed to know where the bus came. The woman got us a free map and a bus ticket to La Spezia Centrale for 2 euros each. The hostel and bus ticket together cost 30 euros each. We ate dinner at the pizzeria down stairs. We played cards for awhile and decided to go to bed since we had a long day ahead of us.
We woke up at 8 and after a quick walk to the bus stop, made the 8:45 bus to the Centrale train station. From there we caught the train to Pisa for 5 euros. We had time to eat at the in-station McDonald's. I got some sort of sandwich with very thin, raw bacon, flat bread, and cheese. It was... interesting. I ate half of it and wrapped the rest up because I was unsure when I'd get to eat again. We met a very friendly American couple who had just come from Pisa, and they explained to us that to get to the tower, we needed to catch a bus across from Pisa Centrale. We could buy a bus ticket for 1 euro in the tabacchi (Italian convenience store) located in the train station, which was good from one hour after validation. We would then need to cross the street and catch the bus. They were very friendly! The man went to Florida State and loved the fact that we were from Texas Tech. We also met an Australian couple on the train ride to Pisa. The husband had heard of Texas Tech and it made me really happy that we're known down under :) We were apparently in a large granite region because there were drilling yards everywhere. The Aussie explained that a tall mountain in the distance was the oldest industrial site in the world and rumored to be where Michelangelo got some of his granite for sculpting.
Once in Pisa we were able to quickly get to the tower thanks to the American couple's instructions. The bus driver warned us in broken English that we needed to watch our bags because we would get robbed without even knowing it. The Piazza dei Miracoli was absolutely beautiful. We took the classic poses with the tower, trying to hold it up and lean on it. There were souvenir tents all along the border of the plaza selling things. We didn't got up the tower for fear of being the ones to make it finally collapse, but just being around it was a great experience. Due to time, money, and other places to go, we were in and out of the plaza within an hour and back at the Pisa Centrale bus station to catch the next bus to La Spezia so that we could then head to Cinque Terre.
For the second night, Courtney had found an apartment for us to stay at in Monterosso, so we passed through the other towns by train and got off at Monterosso. The train cut through the cliffs, so when we shot out of the first tunnel we has our first view of the coast. It took my breath away - partly because I wasn't expecting it, but mainly because it was so incredibly beautiful. None of my pictures or any picture you may find on the internet can do these towns justice. We arrived in Monterosso around 4pm and set out to find the Cantina Du Sciacchetra in via Roma, 7. We found it pretty quickly (somehow) and was greeted by the sweetest woman and her brother. The introduced us to Jesse and Amanda, two newlyweds who were on their honeymoon and did not have a place to stay the night. We scoped out the apartment (click HERE for a video tour... sorry it's a bit shakey) and decided that they could stay on the pull out couch in the entrance room. They were from Venice Beach, California (haha) and were very nice. Jesse had been to Cinque about 5 years ago but didn't realize how popular it had become. Splitting the apartment with them cut our price down to 20 euros each - a definite steal for the location and accomidations.
After settling into the apartment, we decided to head down the street to the beach. The water was SO cold but it felt AMAZING after the long, hot day of traveling. The water was so blue and beautiful, it was perfect!! The sun started to set over the cliff and we decided it was time to eat dinner. We found a place and I was determined to get seafood. I settled on pasta with scampi and tomato and cream sauce. The scampi was served... as whole shrimp. There were about 4 whole shrimp, shell and all, in my pasta. I was not expecting this haha so I picked the meat out and it was delicious with the sauces and pasta! Courtney and I split a half liter of wine and they also served bread.
Back at the wine shop that we went to for the apartment, they were giving out free samples of wine. We had decided that we wanted to try grappa because it very popular in the region. We got a free sample and it was horrible. Grappa is made from the leftovers of wine (skins, stems, etc) and it basically tastes like a bad vodka/tequila concoction. But at least now I can say I tried it! We also sampled some lemonchello and white and red wines for free. We also mentioned we were planning on hiking to Vernazza in the morning, and she gave us huge bottles of water for free. These people were so incredibly nice, they made our time there the best it could be. We got some gelato, played more cards, and went to bed early again so we could wake up and hike in the cool of the morning.
I made a horrible mistake and did not hydrate myself properly before the hike. It was a beautiful clear morning, but the steep steps up the cliff were a definite work out. I drank some water too fast and ended up throwing up at one point. It was bad and embarrassing but I felt a lot better afterwards. The rest of the hike was great and full of wonderful views of Vernazza. We decided to stop at the other cities by train instead of hiking and then made our way back to La Spezia for lunch. The bus driver picked us up at 2pm and we were on our way home to Paderno.
Some observations I have made:
-I am still experiencing a little culture shock. The language barrior is the most frustrating challenge. People are more than willing to work with you, but no one ever fully understands one another. I am working on my Italian pronunciations and key words. The letters j, k, w, x, and y are not true members of the Italian alphabet.
-There are more cars here than I was expecting. People ride bikes and mopeds as well. No one obeys the rules of the road and it is scary riding in a bus when people try to make two-lane roads into 5 lanes. The traffic signs are red and blue and are hard to see. There are also a lot of traffic circles, which are rare in Texas.
-Everything here is based on the metric system. Military time is used, as well as kilometers instead of miles and celsius instead of fahrenheit.
-All the meat here is served raw. Bacon, Ham, etc. When you buy water, you have to say mineral or no gas.
I do not have enough time in the day! I am working on uploading and sorting ALL of my pictures to an account so that you all will be able to look at them. That should be done by Wednesday evening. I went to Padova today and will talk about it in a later post. I am busy planning my travels with a different group to Florence this weekend. I appreciate all of your comments and want you all to know that your support and love makes this time in my life all the more special.
Ciao!!
click to enlarge
For those of you who don't know about Cinque Terre, it is a cluster of five small towns built on the cliffs of the Liguarian Sea coastline. They have become a huge tourist spot and are also a great weekend getaway for the Italians. From north to south, the towns are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The map above should help clarify. The red A is where our first hostel was located in relation to La Spezia.
What an adventure! We set out on a five hour bus ride from Paderno to La Spezia Friday afternoon. The bus was crowded with CIMBA students and had no air conditioning. Alberto, who had arranged the ride for us, was not riding with us but gave us a sheet with phrases such as "Please wait, my friend is not on the bus" and "Please stop, there is a problem" etc. so that we could communicate with the bus driver. The trip was a steal, only costing us 60 euros (I spoke with some people who did their own thing and it cost them around 75 euros with the added stress of canceled trains) but the bus was crowded and the air conditioning did not work. Needless to say it was a long trip, but definitely a great view of the changing countryside between the east and west of Italy.
The plan was for the bus driver to drop us off at the La Spezia Centrale train station, but we arrived in the city right in the middle of Friday night traffic. It was horrible. I did not like La Spezia at all... it was very dirty and I did not feel safe. Due to the traffic, the bus driver drove until he could not get through the streets anymore and basically unloaded 60 American college students and our bags in the middle of the city. After getting over the initial shock of it all, We figured out where the Centrale station was and made our way there. This is where me, Krista, Jaime and Courtney split from everyone else.
Because we knew we were arriving in La Spezia at night and we wanted to go south to Pisa in the morning, we booked a hostel in La Spezia for Friday night. Krista went into a hotel near the train station and asked them to call a cab which came immediately. Courtney showed the driver the address and he proceeded to take us about 15 minutes up the mountain and out of the city. This is where I really started to get scared. I trusted Courtney's booking skills, but I was starting to wonder how much further the hostel was, especially with the cab fare ticking away. The cab driver dropped us off at a pizzeria in the middle of the Piano di Valeriano Village. There were people on the patio of the pizzeria who understood we were looking for the hostel and pointed us in the right direction. The Locanda la Pergola Hostel was above the pizzeria, and we checked in with a man who spoke English. I honestly couldn't tell if he was from England or Australia. He was very nice and explained there had been a double booking, so we needed to wait for a woman who also worked there to return. She returned and also spoke English, but I believe she was Italian. They were both extremely nice and explained that they were going to give the three girls one room and Jaime his own room for the price of one. We agreed and explained we wanted to leave early for Pisa and we needed to know where the bus came. The woman got us a free map and a bus ticket to La Spezia Centrale for 2 euros each. The hostel and bus ticket together cost 30 euros each. We ate dinner at the pizzeria down stairs. We played cards for awhile and decided to go to bed since we had a long day ahead of us.
We woke up at 8 and after a quick walk to the bus stop, made the 8:45 bus to the Centrale train station. From there we caught the train to Pisa for 5 euros. We had time to eat at the in-station McDonald's. I got some sort of sandwich with very thin, raw bacon, flat bread, and cheese. It was... interesting. I ate half of it and wrapped the rest up because I was unsure when I'd get to eat again. We met a very friendly American couple who had just come from Pisa, and they explained to us that to get to the tower, we needed to catch a bus across from Pisa Centrale. We could buy a bus ticket for 1 euro in the tabacchi (Italian convenience store) located in the train station, which was good from one hour after validation. We would then need to cross the street and catch the bus. They were very friendly! The man went to Florida State and loved the fact that we were from Texas Tech. We also met an Australian couple on the train ride to Pisa. The husband had heard of Texas Tech and it made me really happy that we're known down under :) We were apparently in a large granite region because there were drilling yards everywhere. The Aussie explained that a tall mountain in the distance was the oldest industrial site in the world and rumored to be where Michelangelo got some of his granite for sculpting.
Once in Pisa we were able to quickly get to the tower thanks to the American couple's instructions. The bus driver warned us in broken English that we needed to watch our bags because we would get robbed without even knowing it. The Piazza dei Miracoli was absolutely beautiful. We took the classic poses with the tower, trying to hold it up and lean on it. There were souvenir tents all along the border of the plaza selling things. We didn't got up the tower for fear of being the ones to make it finally collapse, but just being around it was a great experience. Due to time, money, and other places to go, we were in and out of the plaza within an hour and back at the Pisa Centrale bus station to catch the next bus to La Spezia so that we could then head to Cinque Terre.
For the second night, Courtney had found an apartment for us to stay at in Monterosso, so we passed through the other towns by train and got off at Monterosso. The train cut through the cliffs, so when we shot out of the first tunnel we has our first view of the coast. It took my breath away - partly because I wasn't expecting it, but mainly because it was so incredibly beautiful. None of my pictures or any picture you may find on the internet can do these towns justice. We arrived in Monterosso around 4pm and set out to find the Cantina Du Sciacchetra in via Roma, 7. We found it pretty quickly (somehow) and was greeted by the sweetest woman and her brother. The introduced us to Jesse and Amanda, two newlyweds who were on their honeymoon and did not have a place to stay the night. We scoped out the apartment (click HERE for a video tour... sorry it's a bit shakey) and decided that they could stay on the pull out couch in the entrance room. They were from Venice Beach, California (haha) and were very nice. Jesse had been to Cinque about 5 years ago but didn't realize how popular it had become. Splitting the apartment with them cut our price down to 20 euros each - a definite steal for the location and accomidations.
After settling into the apartment, we decided to head down the street to the beach. The water was SO cold but it felt AMAZING after the long, hot day of traveling. The water was so blue and beautiful, it was perfect!! The sun started to set over the cliff and we decided it was time to eat dinner. We found a place and I was determined to get seafood. I settled on pasta with scampi and tomato and cream sauce. The scampi was served... as whole shrimp. There were about 4 whole shrimp, shell and all, in my pasta. I was not expecting this haha so I picked the meat out and it was delicious with the sauces and pasta! Courtney and I split a half liter of wine and they also served bread.
Back at the wine shop that we went to for the apartment, they were giving out free samples of wine. We had decided that we wanted to try grappa because it very popular in the region. We got a free sample and it was horrible. Grappa is made from the leftovers of wine (skins, stems, etc) and it basically tastes like a bad vodka/tequila concoction. But at least now I can say I tried it! We also sampled some lemonchello and white and red wines for free. We also mentioned we were planning on hiking to Vernazza in the morning, and she gave us huge bottles of water for free. These people were so incredibly nice, they made our time there the best it could be. We got some gelato, played more cards, and went to bed early again so we could wake up and hike in the cool of the morning.
I made a horrible mistake and did not hydrate myself properly before the hike. It was a beautiful clear morning, but the steep steps up the cliff were a definite work out. I drank some water too fast and ended up throwing up at one point. It was bad and embarrassing but I felt a lot better afterwards. The rest of the hike was great and full of wonderful views of Vernazza. We decided to stop at the other cities by train instead of hiking and then made our way back to La Spezia for lunch. The bus driver picked us up at 2pm and we were on our way home to Paderno.
Some observations I have made:
-I am still experiencing a little culture shock. The language barrior is the most frustrating challenge. People are more than willing to work with you, but no one ever fully understands one another. I am working on my Italian pronunciations and key words. The letters j, k, w, x, and y are not true members of the Italian alphabet.
-There are more cars here than I was expecting. People ride bikes and mopeds as well. No one obeys the rules of the road and it is scary riding in a bus when people try to make two-lane roads into 5 lanes. The traffic signs are red and blue and are hard to see. There are also a lot of traffic circles, which are rare in Texas.
-Everything here is based on the metric system. Military time is used, as well as kilometers instead of miles and celsius instead of fahrenheit.
-All the meat here is served raw. Bacon, Ham, etc. When you buy water, you have to say mineral or no gas.
I do not have enough time in the day! I am working on uploading and sorting ALL of my pictures to an account so that you all will be able to look at them. That should be done by Wednesday evening. I went to Padova today and will talk about it in a later post. I am busy planning my travels with a different group to Florence this weekend. I appreciate all of your comments and want you all to know that your support and love makes this time in my life all the more special.
Ciao!!
Friday, May 22, 2009
First Week
Please click on the pictures to enlarge them!
the back of La Salle, my dorm.
my finance classroom.
a few of us coming back from the hotel bar.
my toilet and bidet!!
the main building on campus.
the cafeteria is in the basement.
So I have a few minutes to write about the actual campus life and my classes. The campus is actually named "Istituti Paritari Filippin" and is a Catholic boarding school. They allow CIMBA to share the facilities so there are American students here and also all ages of Italian students (grade school - high school). It is very interesting to see Italian children and youth interact... and they seem to be just as interested in us. The fashions of young children and 20+ year olds is very fashionable, but the teenagers seem to be going for a more grunge/punk look. The youth is very dirty and I think it's interesting that their fashion culture sort of shows the "teen angst" they feel they are going through.
The meals on campus are mediocre and pretty repititious, but I don't mind because it's saving me a load of money. Breakfast consists of pastries, cereal with warm milk, yogurt, and toast. The drinks are water, juices, hot milk, hot chocolate, and hot coffee. Lunch and dinner are basically the same, with a choice of pasta (different type each day) either plain, with marinara, or sometimes with alfredo. Then there is a meat entree (so far i've tried the ham, salami, pork, and sausage... all good) accompanied by 2 vegitables. Rolls and fruit, usually apples or oranges, are also provided. They sometimes offer pudding or yogurt for a desert. Huge bottles of water are located at the ends of every table, and we just pass it around and refill our glasses as we eat. There is also olive oil, vinegar, and something else that i can't figure out, offered with our meal.
There are three different dorms available to the American students. I live in La Salle, which I believe is named after San Giovanni Battista de La Salle. It is four stories and I live on the top floor, which makes for a great view and one hell of a climb. I don't have a rommate, but most of us don't. From what I can tell, my room is one of the larger rooms with the best view. I really lucked out. My bathroom is what has taken the most time getting used to. The shower is very shallow which causes the water to go all over the floor. The water pressure isn't consistant and neither is the temperature, but I don't mind because I'm so hot during the day that any water feels great. I have a bidet! I use it to wash... my feet :) it's perfect for that haha.
My professors are phenominal. Joan Gabel instructs business law. She is a former business defense attorney and currently a professor at Florida State. She has been coming here to teach for over 10 years now, and loves answering tourist questions. I love the class, too. We have four tests (one each Friday so that the final is not cumulative) and one group paper. I took my first test today and it was a challenge but I feel really confident in my answers. My group consists of me, two girls from Purdue, a guy from Kansas University, and I'm not sure where the other is from. Our paper should be fairly simple, we're writing pro-immigration reform in the U.S. My Financial MAnagement instructor isMatthew Billett, a graduate finance professor at the University of Iowa. There are two finance sections offered, and from what I can tell, I lucked out with Matt because he is just SO motivating. I never thought I would be this interested in finance. It's great.
I am finding it difficult to stay in and study when I'm here, but I am doing it somehow. I feel like I am wasting my time in Italy when I'm studying, but then I remind myself that school is the real reason I'm even here in the first place. I can't wait for classes to be done so I can really enjoy Venice, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey with my parents.
This weekend I am going with about 50 people on a bus to Cinque Terre, a group of five cities on the northwest coast. I have a group of 4 from Tech that I am staying with throughout the weekend. We plan to visit Pisa and then hike through the 5 cities all weekend, visiting the cities and beaches. It will be a great time. Next week I will have time to upload all my pictures to some photo albums so you can see all of them and not just the few I put on here.
Please leave comments and ask questions on here! I feel like no one is reading, and I'd love to answer any questions. To leave one, just write your name and leave the URL blank, then write your message.
Ciao!!!
the back of La Salle, my dorm.
my finance classroom.
a few of us coming back from the hotel bar.
my toilet and bidet!!
the main building on campus.
the cafeteria is in the basement.
So I have a few minutes to write about the actual campus life and my classes. The campus is actually named "Istituti Paritari Filippin" and is a Catholic boarding school. They allow CIMBA to share the facilities so there are American students here and also all ages of Italian students (grade school - high school). It is very interesting to see Italian children and youth interact... and they seem to be just as interested in us. The fashions of young children and 20+ year olds is very fashionable, but the teenagers seem to be going for a more grunge/punk look. The youth is very dirty and I think it's interesting that their fashion culture sort of shows the "teen angst" they feel they are going through.
The meals on campus are mediocre and pretty repititious, but I don't mind because it's saving me a load of money. Breakfast consists of pastries, cereal with warm milk, yogurt, and toast. The drinks are water, juices, hot milk, hot chocolate, and hot coffee. Lunch and dinner are basically the same, with a choice of pasta (different type each day) either plain, with marinara, or sometimes with alfredo. Then there is a meat entree (so far i've tried the ham, salami, pork, and sausage... all good) accompanied by 2 vegitables. Rolls and fruit, usually apples or oranges, are also provided. They sometimes offer pudding or yogurt for a desert. Huge bottles of water are located at the ends of every table, and we just pass it around and refill our glasses as we eat. There is also olive oil, vinegar, and something else that i can't figure out, offered with our meal.
There are three different dorms available to the American students. I live in La Salle, which I believe is named after San Giovanni Battista de La Salle. It is four stories and I live on the top floor, which makes for a great view and one hell of a climb. I don't have a rommate, but most of us don't. From what I can tell, my room is one of the larger rooms with the best view. I really lucked out. My bathroom is what has taken the most time getting used to. The shower is very shallow which causes the water to go all over the floor. The water pressure isn't consistant and neither is the temperature, but I don't mind because I'm so hot during the day that any water feels great. I have a bidet! I use it to wash... my feet :) it's perfect for that haha.
My professors are phenominal. Joan Gabel instructs business law. She is a former business defense attorney and currently a professor at Florida State. She has been coming here to teach for over 10 years now, and loves answering tourist questions. I love the class, too. We have four tests (one each Friday so that the final is not cumulative) and one group paper. I took my first test today and it was a challenge but I feel really confident in my answers. My group consists of me, two girls from Purdue, a guy from Kansas University, and I'm not sure where the other is from. Our paper should be fairly simple, we're writing pro-immigration reform in the U.S. My Financial MAnagement instructor isMatthew Billett, a graduate finance professor at the University of Iowa. There are two finance sections offered, and from what I can tell, I lucked out with Matt because he is just SO motivating. I never thought I would be this interested in finance. It's great.
I am finding it difficult to stay in and study when I'm here, but I am doing it somehow. I feel like I am wasting my time in Italy when I'm studying, but then I remind myself that school is the real reason I'm even here in the first place. I can't wait for classes to be done so I can really enjoy Venice, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey with my parents.
This weekend I am going with about 50 people on a bus to Cinque Terre, a group of five cities on the northwest coast. I have a group of 4 from Tech that I am staying with throughout the weekend. We plan to visit Pisa and then hike through the 5 cities all weekend, visiting the cities and beaches. It will be a great time. Next week I will have time to upload all my pictures to some photo albums so you can see all of them and not just the few I put on here.
Please leave comments and ask questions on here! I feel like no one is reading, and I'd love to answer any questions. To leave one, just write your name and leave the URL blank, then write your message.
Ciao!!!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Asolo!
It is difficult to explain how my schedule works, but basically I have classes all morning and then my afternoons and evenings are free for me. The times of the classes rotate between weeks (I have my first class at 9:30 this week and 8:00 next week, etc) and I have four, 4hour afternoon blocks throughout the four weeks, two for each class. The CIMBA program provides free bus rides to different local locations every afternoon, which is a wonderful treat. Yesterday, the trip was to Asolo, a beautiful classic Italian castle town. The graduate school program for CIMBA is also located here, at an old monastery at the top of the larger hill. Also at the top of the hill is the castle of Queen Caterina Cornaro of Cyprus. The town was so beautiful! There was a group of about 9 of us that went, and me, Krista, and Courtney (two other girls from Tech) walked the town together. Because it is one of the higher points in the region, the views from Asolo were incredible and breathtaking. There are also two fountains that are pretty well-known in the region.
The town is also known for it's more expensive shopping, so I was looking for some jewelry and sunglasses, but to no avail. The streets were cobblestone, which was painful for me because I was stupid and wore sandals. The streets are so narrow and winding here in Italy... it is so scary to ride in the wide buses because the drivers go extremely fast and at times can be packed with very little space right between two walls.
After hiking up the hills and streets, Courtney needed a drink, so we stopped at a bar for some water. I was tempted to get a glass of wine, but the menu was a little more pricey than I was willing to pay. We then made our way to a recommended gelato shop. This experience is my favorite so far on my travels here. The gelato man was SOOO great! (He didn't speak any english.) While deciding what flavor to get, I pointed to the "fragola vino" flavor. He brought out a glass and bottle of wine, poured us a glass, and let us sample the wine for free. We were a little confused, but then I realized he was letting us sample the wine that he used to make the gelato flavor I had pointed to. So funny. I bought a scoop in a cone for one euro. He was just so animated and kind... it was a great experience.
I could have just sat around Asolo all day... it is so beautiful and peaceful. All of Italy is, really... it makes me feel so carefree.
Last night after dinner, me, Krista, Courtney, Jaime (all from Tech) , Danielle and Katie (KU) went to the bar at a hotel near campus and ordered some drinks. They were playing American music, which was really weird. I never thought I'd hear lil' wayne in Italy. There were other CIMBA students and some Italians drinking there too, and it was an enjoyable time. The group walked down to the Pizzaria run by Fabio, an Italian man that provides taxi service to a lot of locals here. We ordered pizza and it was great! I love the thin crust and light sauce the Italians use.
Jaime, Krista, Courtney and I are almost done planning our trip to Cinque Terre and Pisa this weekend. I CANNOTTTT wait, it is going to be fantastic. We have found a few great hostels and plan to hike through the five different cities. I had never really heard of Cinque Terre before, but after reading about it, I am thrilled to go. There is a man, Alberto, who works in Paderno, that loves to share his traveling experiences with the students who come here. He is not associated with CIMBA, but they recommend using his services. He has offered to bus many of the students directly from Paderno to Cinque Terre and back for a price similar to what it would cost for us to travel hectically by many buses and trains. He is very kind and speaks English well, and I trust he will be a great chauffeur.
It is hard to find time between class and travels to post, but I am still trying to get into a routine. I plan to set up a photo album soon and post a link on here for pictures. I will talk about campus life and classes (which I LOVE) in a later post. As for tonight, I plan to take a quick trip to Possagno, eat dinner on campus, then go for some drinks with Danielle and Courtney. Ciao!!
The town is also known for it's more expensive shopping, so I was looking for some jewelry and sunglasses, but to no avail. The streets were cobblestone, which was painful for me because I was stupid and wore sandals. The streets are so narrow and winding here in Italy... it is so scary to ride in the wide buses because the drivers go extremely fast and at times can be packed with very little space right between two walls.
After hiking up the hills and streets, Courtney needed a drink, so we stopped at a bar for some water. I was tempted to get a glass of wine, but the menu was a little more pricey than I was willing to pay. We then made our way to a recommended gelato shop. This experience is my favorite so far on my travels here. The gelato man was SOOO great! (He didn't speak any english.) While deciding what flavor to get, I pointed to the "fragola vino" flavor. He brought out a glass and bottle of wine, poured us a glass, and let us sample the wine for free. We were a little confused, but then I realized he was letting us sample the wine that he used to make the gelato flavor I had pointed to. So funny. I bought a scoop in a cone for one euro. He was just so animated and kind... it was a great experience.
I could have just sat around Asolo all day... it is so beautiful and peaceful. All of Italy is, really... it makes me feel so carefree.
Last night after dinner, me, Krista, Courtney, Jaime (all from Tech) , Danielle and Katie (KU) went to the bar at a hotel near campus and ordered some drinks. They were playing American music, which was really weird. I never thought I'd hear lil' wayne in Italy. There were other CIMBA students and some Italians drinking there too, and it was an enjoyable time. The group walked down to the Pizzaria run by Fabio, an Italian man that provides taxi service to a lot of locals here. We ordered pizza and it was great! I love the thin crust and light sauce the Italians use.
Jaime, Krista, Courtney and I are almost done planning our trip to Cinque Terre and Pisa this weekend. I CANNOTTTT wait, it is going to be fantastic. We have found a few great hostels and plan to hike through the five different cities. I had never really heard of Cinque Terre before, but after reading about it, I am thrilled to go. There is a man, Alberto, who works in Paderno, that loves to share his traveling experiences with the students who come here. He is not associated with CIMBA, but they recommend using his services. He has offered to bus many of the students directly from Paderno to Cinque Terre and back for a price similar to what it would cost for us to travel hectically by many buses and trains. He is very kind and speaks English well, and I trust he will be a great chauffeur.
It is hard to find time between class and travels to post, but I am still trying to get into a routine. I plan to set up a photo album soon and post a link on here for pictures. I will talk about campus life and classes (which I LOVE) in a later post. As for tonight, I plan to take a quick trip to Possagno, eat dinner on campus, then go for some drinks with Danielle and Courtney. Ciao!!
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