Pictures from the End

My Italian class :)

the kiddos I played with when I volunteered

Claudio, the director of the after school program I volunteered at, and Jordan - a girl in my program

The tower at night

Me and my roommate, Katie

My Black Death class

the 2 other IC students in the program

view from Montalcino

View of Florence from where we ate dinner

View of Florence from the Botanical Gardens

Home :)

So I am officially home in good old Vermont. I got in late last night and immediately went to sleep. It was a very long day of traveling, so I'm definitely glad to be home right now. I am fully unpacked, since I had the time and was so sick of looking at my suitcases and living out of them. The past couple of days have been great traveling around Italy with my parents, but I think having to live just out of a suitcase was getting to me. That's the one part of traveling that I don't like.
I'm trying to remember where I left off on the last post... Friday morning we got a short tour of Spanocchia (where we were staying in Siena). It's a really cool place and it was in a really beautiful area. I would definitely stay there again. We drove to visit Pienza and Montalcino. Both are small hill towns that my parents wanted to check out. I had gone to Pienza before for a field study for class, so I already knew a lot about the town. However, once we got there, it looked a bit different. There was a flower festival going on, so the town had flowers hanging everywhere and the main piazza was filled with flowers. It looked completely different and much nicer.  There were people walking throughout the streets, which was a nice change from the last time I was there and it seemed like a ghost town. We had a nice lunch before walking around a bit in the town. I am glad that I got to see Pienza again in that environment. Then we headed to Montalcino, since it was on our way back to the hotel. I wish we could have walked around a bit more in Montalcino. It was gorgeous and really nice. From every small town I've gone to, there are some amazing views. The Tuscan countryside is like nothing else. Vermont has some pretty good views, but Tuscany takes first place here. The rolling hillsides and vineyards scattered about with a random house or two thrown in just make it truly unique. It never gets old to see that and I know that is one thing I am going to truly miss about Italy. We drove back to Spanocchia to get ready for dinner. I had made a reservation at my favorite restaurant in Siena (and really anywhere). It was right at the end of my street and my parents loved it. We got seated at a table for 8 with a lady sitting by herself and later a couple sat on the other side of her. This restaurant, San Giuseppe, is a small, homey, and comfortable place. The service is great and everyone there is really nice. The food is exceptional and I wish you all could go there and have a meal. The first time I ate there, I immediately knew that I wanted my last supper to be there. It is a must for me to go back to Siena, even if just for dinner. I need to go back to San Giuseppe - that's how good it was. The older lady that we were sitting next to started talking to us in Italian. She didn't know any English, so my parents had a hard time communicating with her. But, I could understand some of what she was saying, so I tried to communicate with her a bit. After dinner, my parents told me that was probably the best meal they have had in Siena. I told them it was good and now they see why I needed to take them there. It's too bad I didn't go there more often.
On Saturday we had to check out of Spanocchia. We headed to a couple more small towns. First was San Gimignano which my mom thought was hyped up a lot. I completely agree. The skyscrapers are really cool when you understand that they built them a very long time ago without scaffolding. They built something that tall before they had any of the tools that people later on used. It's really cool to see, but other than that San Gimignano doesn't have much else to see. Then, we headed to Greve, which was on our way to Florence. On our way there, we passed by a restaurant and decided to stop. It was a cute, family run restaurant and it was a nice way to break up the drive. We got to Greve and walked around for about 20 minutes. My mom had wanted to go to see the Saturday market, but by the time we got there it was closed. We then made our way to Florence and got to our hotel. It was quiet and a nice place. It was a little outside the city, which was really nice. Once we had gotten settled, we took and walk and looked around. On our walk we found a restaurant where we could go for dinner. It was delicious and the view from the terrace we ate at was amazing. It was another family run restaurant, which I love. Throughout Italy, most of the restaurants are family run and it's a great atmosphere to eat in. The chef comes out a lot and talks with the diners because he knows a lot of them. I just love how much they love to cook and socialize and share that with everyone else.
On Sunday we walked around Florence for the day. We of course went to Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence and the most famous. Then, Elida had recommended some places for us to go that were a little less touristy. One of them was the oldest church in Florence which was on Piazza Limbo, where lots of children were buried. Then, we just walked around and made our way to the Duomo, which we unfortunately couldn't go into because a mass was going on at the time. We kept walking to the Accademia where David is, but the line was extremely long, so we just turned around and walked back. On our way back to our car, we walked through the botanical gardens. They were huge and cool, but different than other botanical gardens that I've walked through. It was more statues and paths than gardens. But, I think that we were a bit out of season and that the flowers/gardens hadn't fully bloomed yet. We made it back to our car and made our way to our last hotel, which was closer to the airport. That night we had our last meal in Italy. The next morning we got up early to head to the airport. Once we got into Chicago, it was a bit strange for me. It was weird to hear everyone around me speaking English. I actually had to be careful with what I said because everyone could understand exactly what I was saying. As I got off the plane, I saw a teenager traveling in a t-shirt, juicy sweatpants, and flip flops. I immediately knew that I was in America. I laughed a little to myself when I saw that and whispered to myself "Welcome Back." It's interesting the little things I notice now and things I would never do now. After traveling to Italy, I would never travel in sweats. Maybe I got that from being in Italy, but maybe it's just me growing up. Seeing all the different types of styles that people wear reminded me that I was back in the states. It still hasn't quite hit me that I am back here for good. After about a week, I think I will really start to feel the emotions that come with this. It all seems so surreal to me and most of it just feels like it was a dream. I am still in a bit of denial that I actually went and that I'm back. There are definitely things I am going to always miss about Siena and Italy, but it was the greatest opportunity of my life so far. It couldn't have been any better.

Goodbyes

This week has been pretty crazy. I have had exams and packing at the same time. Yet, all that was on my mind was packing. I feel like I kind of gave up on the studying for my exams, but at this point I am okay with that. I was more trying to enjoy my last couple of days in Siena with everyone. I knew that I would remember the memories from sitting on the campo or getting gelato with someone rather than doing well on a test. We were all savoring the LAST time we would get gelato from our favorite place or get our LAST slice of pizza. It’s hard to imagine that in another couple of days I won’t be walking those same streets every day and that I won’t be able to get my usual cappuccino and pastry every morning. Or that every Tuesday I volunteer after class and every Wednesday is the big market. All of these things I will definitely miss about Siena. I can’t believe how fast this semester has gone. I feel like it was just a couple of days ago that I got here. Yesterday was a very emotional day. It was the LAST day for our program. I woke up to go to Italian class where we played a card game and basically chatted with our professor. It was a great end to the semester. Then, since it was Wednesday, I went to the market and got myself a pair of boots. I have wanted to get boots this entire semester and I finally got them! I love them can’t wait to wear them! I decided it was time to go study for my art history exam, so I headed to IES and a group of us studied a bit. Once art was over, I was absolutely thrilled. I was done with exams and could go finish packing. I had a couple of hours before our group dinner started, so I headed back to my apartment and started rolling everything up to put in my suitcase. At 6:30 me, Katie, and Michelle headed out to the campo to meet the rest of the group to go to dinner. About an hour into dinner, Alana had to leave and it was the first goodbye for all of us. It was hard, but I held it together. After dinner we all took some pictures and then went to get some drinks to celebrate our time in Siena. I went to get changed since I had a dress on and it was pretty cold out. Katie and I headed over to Lindsay, Jordan, Florence, and Charlotte’s apartment to hang out before going to sleep. All of us were lying on their balcony just chatting and prolonging the time before we had to say goodbye. It didn’t hit me until a group of girls left. It was then that all the memories of the semester came forward and I remembered all the good times I had with these people. I started tearing up and it was hard to hug people, knowing that I wouldn’t be seeing them for a bit. I wouldn’t be seeing them everyday like I had been. You get to know these people and you hang out with them every day. You get used to spending a lot of time with them that when you realize that for at least a couple of months you won’t see them at all is hard. I still can’t believe it now. It will really hit me once I get home and my entire daily routine will have to change. I will start missing things about Siena and the people who made the semester great. I am so glad I was able to meet all of those people and am glad that they are now a part of my life. I know that I will now be visiting certain places in the States. Someday soon I will be seeing these people again. I made some really good, lifelong friends. They really made this experience tons of fun and I have so many good memories from this trip. It’s never easy to say goodbye, but that’s a good thing because it means you bonded with people and added some great friends to your world. I would take those goodbyes over not meeting these people any day.

Anyways today, my parents made it to Siena! Technically they arrived last night at their hotel, but they got to the center of Siena this morning. I got up to finish some packing and clean our apartment. Around 10:45ish I got a call from my dad saying that he made it to the parking garage I had told him to park in. So, I met them at the end of my road. It was great to see them! I showed them all around Siena and the life I had been living for the past 4 months. I was so happy that they could finally see the campo, eat at my favorite pizza place, have my favorite gelato, and see where I would go running. It’s nice to be able to share that with someone from home, especially my parents. They have had a great time so far in Italy. I ran into Jordan today and was happy that she got to meet my parents and vice versa. We did a lot together in Siena, and it was nice to have my parents meet someone other than my roommates from the program. It was a great day and I can’t wait to explore more with them in the next couple of days. 3 more days until I am back state side! Wow! That just seems insane to me! See everyone then! Buonanotte!

Last week

This entire semester has gone by so fast that I can't believe it is about a week until I will be on a plane heading back to good old Vermont. It will be a bittersweet parting: I am extremely excited to see my family and friends, but I am definitely going to miss Siena a lot. So, I figured it was time to create a list of things I'm looking forward to when I get home and things I will miss about Siena. This is helping me to procrastinate from studying since that is the last thing I want to be doing today.

What I look forward to about home
  - seeing my family and friends
  - running around with my dog
  - playing soccer with my dad
  - rolling in the grass (sounds weird, but there is zero grass here in Siena)
  - swimming in my grandparent's pool
  - going to the beach
  - iced coffee
  - Thai and Mexican food
  - chocolate chip cookies
  - driving my car and not worrying about public transportation
  - DMB concert!!
  - my own bed/room
  - TV
  - having an oven
  - giving gifts to people :)

Things I will miss about Siena
  - the food
  - beautiful scenery
  - piazza del campo
  - the wonderful friends I've made
  - volunteering with the little kiddos
  - gelato
  - history everywhere
  - running in the Fortezza
  - cappuccino's
  - the big market on Wednesday's
  - not being able to visit Elida and Guenter as easily
  - cheap transportation to other part of Italy and other countries

I know it will be extremely hard for me to leave everything I've known for the past 4 months behind, but the memories will last forever. I will look back on this in a couple of months and smile knowing that this was the time of my life and that I will be back one day to reminisce. I would love to bring my kids here and show them a place that will always be a part of me. And someday, I hope that my kids have this same opportunity that I had.

Lastly, my parents have finally arrived in Italy! I can't wait until I get to see them on Wednesday! Right now, they are at Elida and Guenter's house - hopefully they found it okay and are enjoying themselves. I'm sure they are having a blast and I know that they will be eating very well. This has been a dream come true and even now I find it hard to believe that this is real life.

Amalfi Coast pictures

the beach!!

the pool at our hotel

Pompeii

one of the paintings in the houses in Pompeii

this is a person in the exact position that they died in covered in ash

Mt. Vesuvius

Positano from afar

Some of us at the beach in Positano

Sunset on the beach :-)

All of us with Pepino (in the middle) on our last night in Salerno. Also, I'm wearing my new maxi dress in this photo. What do you guys think?

Amalfi Coast!

On Friday, we had to get up early to catch the bus to Florence for our art history class. We were going to look at some Renaissance art around Florence since that is where our teacher is from. First we went to a church, then went to the Baptistery and talked about the doors for a bit. We were going to go into the Duomo, but the line was super long and we didn’t have the time to wait in it. So, we just talked about it for a few minutes and made our way to the Uffizi. That place is massive! We were there for 2 hours and barely made it through a section of one floor. I think I would get very overwhelmed if I walked around and saw everything. The Uffizi only has a few of the best pieces from artists. It was really cool to be able to see that and get the background on paintings that I never would have gotten without our teacher. She really is great and I know that I’ve learned a lot from her this semester.

From Florence, a group of us took the train to Salerno, where we would be staying for the weekend. It was a 6 hour train ride and every time we went through a tunnel, our ears plugged up and it was painful. It got annoying after a bit, but luckily it only lasted for a small part of the trip. The last hour is always the worst. I have to drive 6 hours to get to school and that last hour manages to feel like 6 hours in itself. We finally made it to Salerno and got picked up by the hotel shuttle, which obviously brought us to our hotel. It was about 9:45 by the time we got to the hotel and we were all starving, so we quickly checked in and dropped our bags in our rooms. Then, we got dinner at the hotel restaurant just before it closed. The food was really good and the old man who waited on us was really sweet. He was sad to see us leave and we were all sad to say goodbye to him.

Saturday was just a day of relaxation for us. We got up, had breakfast, and went to sit by the pool. A couple of times a few of us went for a walk along the beach which was really nice. We had really nice weather and were able to be outside the entire weekend. It was a great break from all the rain we have gotten in Siena. For me, walking on the beach is always a treat since in Vermont, we only have one beach and it’s not that big. We went to dinner at the pizzeria across the street which was called Heaven. An odd name for a restaurant and we all thought that it might be a strip joint at night… It had good, cheap food that we were all really satisfied with. After some of us went to the beach and hung for a few minutes before heading back to the hotel.

 On Sunday, we got up early to travel. I went with Katie, Russell, Florence, Beckah, and Jenny to Pompeii in the morning while Kayla, Lindsay and Lindsay’s friend Sarah went to Ercoleum. Pompeii was really cool! I’m so glad I got to see the ruins. I didn’t realize how big the ruins are and it was truly amazing. We walked around for a good 3 hours and probably only saw about half of it. We met up with the other three girls at the train station to travel to Sorrento for the afternoon. Immediately we were in search for food near the water. As we were walking down a street looking at menu’s one of the host’s of a restaurant started talking to us as we walked by. When we didn’t stop and said we weren’t interested, he said “Oh, so I guess you don’t want good food? Sorry we aren’t McDonalds.” Did he think that he was going to get us to eat there by haggling us? And then you insult us? No thanks. Why they think that bugging people as they walk by is going to get them to stop and eat boggles my mind. Let me choose and leave me alone. I will decide where I want to eat. We ended up eating at a restaurant a few down from this one. The waitresses were really nice and no one bugged us about eating there. The service was great and the food was amazing too. I got pasta with swordfish and pumpkin. It sounds like a weird combination of food, but it was really good! I’m really glad I decided to try it out. I have found that since I’ve been here in Italy, I have been more willing to try new things. I might as well try something while I’m in Italy because it most likely will be good. After lunch, we made our way down to the water and put our feet in the clear blue water. So nice! Then we just walked around doing a little shopping. We made our way back to the train station to head back to our hotel in Salerno. It was a very long day and we were all exhausted, so we just hung out in our rooms and went to bed early.

On Monday we decided to go to Positano for a day trip. We got a ferry there which was cool. I liked seeing all the coast towns and the houses built into the cliffs. I loved Positano! Upon arriving, I was in love. The beauty of the town can’t even be described in words. Houses/shops are piled on the cliff with the beach below. We walked through it a bit before finding a place to get some lunch. This restaurant had a view onto the water had we been able to sit outside. But, we were all fine with sitting inside to get away from the sun for a bit. I got pasta primavera which was pasta with tomatoes, olive oil, and mozzarella. Soooo good! I was so sad when it was all gone. It was a nice light dish that didn’t fill me up too much. I was very satisfied with the meal and was just as happy as could be during this entire trip. We walked around some more, shopping and looking around. Eventually I went with Beckah, Russell, and Florence down to the beach. The “sand” was extremely hot and I couldn’t even put my foot on it, so I kept my shoes on the entire time. I couldn’t sit in the sun for that long since it was a really powerful sun that I could feel was scorching my skin the longer I sat there. So, Beckah, Russel, and I went to find some gelato. I got some crushed lemon ice which was very refreshing and just what I needed. On our walk back down to the beach to meet up with everyone else, I found a really cute dress. It is a maxi dress, which I never thought I would be able to pull off since I’m so short. This dress proved me wrong. I absolutely love it! I can’t wait to wear it! It was like it was made for me. That night I actually wore it to dinner. Unfortunately, we had to get back on the ferry to Salerno. I could have stayed longer, but I know that someday I will be back there. Maybe I will bring my kids there and reminisce about when I was there. Grandma, that needs to be your next trip. You and Aunt Nancy should go to the Amalfi Coast instead of Florida. It is beautiful and there’s plenty of shopping for A. Nancy :-)

We made it back to the hotel and decided to watch the sunset on the beach. It was really cool to see that and gave me some good pictures. The sunset on the beach is so much cooler than any other sunset. After, we went back to the hotel to get ready for our last dinner in the Amalfi Coast. I wore my new maxi dress and fell even more in love with it. It was a really nice dinner and the old man that waited on us was really sweet. His name was Pepino and he was the nicest old Italian man ever. We got a few pictures with him and he rode with us in the shuttle to the train station to say goodbye. So precious! We left the next morning to head back to Florence and then back to Siena. All in all it was a great weekend and I had a blast. This was probably the best trip I’ve been on in Italy. It was relaxing and filled with some good memories. It was nice that it was right before our last couple of weeks here. I am so grateful to have this opportunity and this trip really solidified that for me. The entire trip I kept thinking, “Is this real life?” I feel like I’m in a dream. It’s absolutely amazing and I am having the time of my life. I can’t say it enough, but thank you to everyone who made this possible for me. Mom and Dad, you really made this come true for me and I am so glad that you guys are able to take a vacation to Italy and see for yourself the things I truly love about this city. <3

Photos from Umbria, soccer, and cooking class

So excited about being able to play soccer :)

Cooking class

Soccer game!

One of the two symbols of Perugia

the other symbol of Perugia

Oh you know, just a beautiful view of the countryside in Umbria

This is a waffle covered in chocolate and sprinkled with nuts. So good!

Me with my friend Jordan

The painter's workshop in Bevagna

Silk workshop

candles!

We're making paper!

Just another one of those views

St. Francis church in Assisi

La scuola di Cucina, Umbria e il Partite di Calcio

Sorry for all the delay in writing, but I've been extremely busy with writing papers and studying for finals. It's crazy! All of last week I just sat down and cranked out 3 papers, each 10-12 pages and then studied this past weekend for a test I had yesterday. Finally today, since I have finished those papers I can relax a bit and do nothing.
Anyways, last Monday I did a cooking class with 7 other girls from my program. It was great! Unfortunately, it was about 4-5 hours long. I was exhausted afterwards, but the food we ate and made was delicious! I am definitely making those dishes when I get home. I already told my Aunt Kate that I would make an Italian dinner for everyone over the summer, so now I can hold true to that :) Just be prepared for many courses and for me to turn Italian on everyone saying "What? You can't be full already! We still have our second course and dessert!" We still have one more cooking class to go to which I am really excited for. We made a traditional Tuscan soup that was absolutely amazing! I know that I can make that easily at home, so I will be making it a lot. It's basically a tomato based soup that has bread and some other stuff in it. You just have to try it. Then we made homemade pasta with a sausage and mushroom sauce. I am not the biggest fan of mushrooms, but luckily they were chopped up (by me) and I didn't even really taste them. They weren't too noticeable which was also good for me. Then for our second course we had a roasted pork loin with potatoes. I could have eaten about 4 plates of that. So good! I will try to replicate it at home, but I highly doubt it will come out nearly as good as hers. And of course for dessert, we had a rice cake that had raisins and pine nuts in it. My mouth is watering right now thinking of that entire meal. Definitely one of the best meals I have had in my life.
The rest of the week was just me doing homework. I wanted to get done most of my papers before the weekend because I was going away for Friday and Saturday. Luckily I did get a lot done and my persistence paid off because now I am able to blog and watch TV shows and not worry about anything for a couple of days. Last Friday I went to Perugia, Umbria as part of the IES sponsored trip. We arrived in Perugia and met our guide at the hotel. He was originally from Brussels, Belgium and has been living in Italy for the past 13 years. It was really nice to have a guide who spoke really good English and  told us stuff that he found interesting and thought we would find interesting also. On Friday afternoon, we went to Bevagna, a really really small town close to Perugia. We got to see how candles, paper, and silk was made and we also saw a painters shop. It was really cool! Saturday morning, we traveled to Assisi for the rest of the trip. We went to St. Francis' church and learned all about him since Assisi is his birthplace. It was a cool trip and I'm glad I went. It's nice to see the smaller towns of Italy because that is where all the history and culture is. You get to experience different aspects of Italian culture by going to the small towns and can really get immersed in that. The only thing I wanted to do was spend more time in Perugia. I felt like I didn't really get to do a lot since our free time was taken up by lunch. I would have loved to walk around and see a bit more of the town. Oh well.
Sunday morning I decided to go to church with Jordan, Beckah, and Jillian. It was really nice to go and from the start I felt welcome. Someone translated the sermons for us and the lyrics for the songs were projected up on the wall. I thought that was really great. I could actually sing along and participate instead of being lost and not know what's going on. After church, there was a big lunch for everyone there. It was great and nice to be able to relax for a bit before I went home to finish up my papers. There were some things that they preached that I completely disagreed with and some that I liked. When we were eating lunch, we started talking to a couple from London, whose daughter had studied abroad in Siena a few years ago and they are looking to buy a house nearby. They were very nice and both their daughters are getting married within the next year. I had to force myself to bite my tongue a couple of times because I got frustrated with some of the things she was saying. I realized that at some point in my life, maybe after I'm done with grad school, I would like to join a church. I like the community feeling of it and I felt like I had been going to this church for a long time. Just the fact that the people were so welcoming even though they didn't know me at all. After I'm done with school and I start working somewhere/settle down a bit, I want to search for a church that I like. One that I feel comfortable in and with their sermons. In a way, going to church gave me a break from everything and I was able to get away from all the stress for a few hours. I definitely needed that.
Anyways, enough of the talk about religion. Yesterday, I did my volunteering, which I love more and more each time I go. I am definitely going to miss those kids and will miss them looking up at me and speaking Italian that I can sometimes understand. I am going to have to find some sort of volunteer thing with little kids that I can do at home. I only have one more day of volunteering left since next Tuesday is a national holiday. So sad :(
Today I went to a soccer game. So much fun! I am so excited that I was able to go. The weather was perfect and it was such a great atmosphere. I can't wait to bring my parents to a game when they come. They will have to get some sort of AC Siena paraphernalia to bring to the game. Siena played Bologna and they tied 1-1. I love watching soccer, so it was really great to not feel so strange when I get angry or just go crazy during a game. I can only imagine what it will be like watching a game with my dad... Prepare yourself, Mom. :-) I loved all the cheers they do and how into the game a lot of the fans are. They truly love the game and show their support for their team. I wish I could watch soccer games as easily back home as I can here. That's what TV is for haha.
So that's what I've been up to for the past week. This weekend I will be going down south to Salerno (Amalfi Coast) for a long weekend. I can't wait to sit by the pool and completely relax before finals.
 I will post pictures from all these things either later today, or tomorrow :)

Also a belated birthday shout out to my big sister, Jordan. Happy Birthday sis! Love ya! Hope it was amazing and that you had lots of fun with Mom and Dad. You deserve it <3

Calcio!

So this week has been a bit uneventful. On Tuesday, as usual, I went with Jordan to volunteering. Once we got down to the school we realized that the gates were both closed, so there was no way of getting into the school. I think it was closed for Easter or something. We just decided to walk back up instead of taking the bus. It was a nice time to catch up with Jordan and get a bit of exercise in. The rest of the week I mainly worked on one of my three papers that I have to write. Luckily, I finished one of them on Friday night. On Friday, I was determined to write most of my paper. I got some coffee and a pastry and then went on a short walk. The rest of the day, I was stuck in front of my computer writing away. I hated it. I just wanted to be sitting outside writing the paper. Now, I know for sure that I definitely couldn't have a job where I sit in a cubicle or office all day. I need to walk around or just have something different to look at. I was going to go to a classical concert on Friday night, but I decided to finish up my paper instead. Part of me wishes I had gone because they played a Beethoven symphony, a Brahms symphony and another one that I didn't know. It would have been so cool to listen to pieces by two musicians that I learned about and played on the piano. But, I am really glad that I was able to finish my paper and not have to worry about it now. Saturday I just did some more homework, mainly my Italian, and didn't do much else. Saturday night I went out with some people from the program because it was Alana's 21st birthday today. I woke up this morning to find out that the soccer game we were all going to go to had been cancelled. There was an AC Siena (the professional soccer team in Siena) home game today and we were all super excited to go. Unfortunately it got postponed because a player from Livorno had died yesterday during a game. He was 25 years old and died due to a heart attack. The article I read was really sad because it said that he was orphaned at a young age and had recently lost his brother, so he didn't have any immediate family left. So, all the professional soccer games were cancelled for today in respect of what had happened. It seemed a bit weird to me to cancel all the games, including the ones from different leagues, but I guess, as my dad put it, "it's solidarity." It just shows that everyone in the soccer world is thinking about this player and keeping him in their thoughts. They are showing support for someone that they may not have known. After thinking about it that way, I understand more of why they did it and it's a really nice gesture. So, instead of going to watch soccer, we decided that we could just play some pick up. About 7 of us went and it was tons of fun! We bought a soccer ball nearby and had found a field that I wouldn't have ever found on my own. It was a nice field and it was just great to kick a soccer ball. I don't realize how much I take for granted that I can just grab a soccer ball, go outside, and juggle it or kick it around. This entire time that I've been here, I have missed soccer so much. All I've wanted to do is play or at least kick a ball once. We got to the field and I immediately shot the ball into the net. It felt amazing! I couldn't stop smiling the entire time we were playing. I never thought I would get so excited over soccer. But, now I've realized how much I truly love the game and I know that it will always be a big part of my life. I can't wait to get back to playing soccer in the fall! We eventually got kicked off the field because it was for private use. We had gotten a decent hour of play in, so we were all very happy. After we all went home to shower and chill out. Then, I went out to dinner for Alana's birthday and it was really nice. It was relaxing and I didn't have to think about cooking something for myself. I got home and skyped my parents. We caught up on everything that was happening at home and here. I can't believe they will be here in 3 short weeks! I can't wait to show them around and show them what I do regularly and all the amazing views there are to see. I think they are really going to love it here :)

Happy 20th birthday E-man! I would have eaten some poptarts for you if they sold them here in Italy. Always a part of me :-) <3

Weekend di pasqua

This weekend was really nice and relaxing. After spring break, all I didn't really want to travel anywhere for the entire weekend. On Friday I went to Montepulciano for the day with Alana, Jillian, and Mary. I really like day trips because I don't have to worry about hostels and packing bags. We got there and had to either wait an hour for a bus to take us from the train station to the center of the town or call a taxi. So, we called a taxi and our driver was really nice but a crazy driver. He drove so fast around all these turns and we all thought that the car might break at some point. But, we got to Montepulciano and it's a really cute town. It has some amazing views anywhere you looked. There were tons of cute little stores on the main street and tons of places to do wine tastings. We just walked around for a bit looking at everything. We found a place to eat, which was really good. All the pasta was home made and just tasted fresh. After lunch, we decided to find someplace to do a wine tasting. We walked to the edge of the town and found a place tucked behind a church. It had some great views, so we went in and gave it a try. Wine tasting is free and the guy who was telling us about each of the wines was extremely nice and knew pretty good English. We got to try 5 wines: 2 white and 3 red. All were very good, but my favorite was the very first white one we tried. I can now see why my Grandma likes white wine so much! I ended up getting some olive oil from this place because it was amazing! I could eat their olive oil all day! We went and did a couple more wine tastings on our way back, but none were as good as the first one.
For the rest of the weekend, I pretty much relaxed. It was wonderful! On Saturday, I did a little bit of research for my 3 papers that I have to write in the next couple of weeks. I found out that the motto for my contrada (the wave) is: "Il colore del cielo, la forza del mare" or "the color of the sky, the power of the sea". I really like it and it makes up for the ugly dolphin that is our symbol. Saturday night I went out to dinner with a few people from my program. We went to a place on my street that everyone raves about. It's La Osteria dell' San Giuseppe. Best. Meal. Ever. We got seated and the waiter took our coats and hung them up for us. I felt like I was eating at a really fancy place, but it still felt very comfortable and homey. They brought us bread and something the size of a shot glass with potato soup in it. So good! I ordered home made pasta with sausage, broccoli, and mozzarella. Again, delicious! Of course, we decided that since our dinner was so good, we had to order dessert. I got a chocolate mousse cake with a white chocolate sauce. As you know, I am a sucker for chocolate, especially chocolate mousse, so once I saw it on the menu my decision was made. And what a good decision it was. I felt like I was in heaven eating it. I savored every single bite of it and didn't want it to end. I finally realized where I would want my last supper to be. It wouldn't matter what I got from this place because I know it would all be wonderful. I can't wait to bring my parents here and enjoy a great dinner with them :)
On Sunday, I got my Italian homework done, which was a little difficult because we just started combined pronouns. It seemed pretty straight forward in class, but I got to the homework and a few of them I had no clue what to put down. Oh well. I guess I will just have to ask Alice to explain it a bit more in class tomorrow. It was Easter, so I decided that I would go to mass in the morning. It was cool to go to an Italian mass. Even though I didn't really understand much of what was going on or much of what was being said, I didn't feel weird in church. Back home, a couple of times that I've gone, I've felt a bit odd being there. Like I shouldn't be there. I don't know what it was, but I felt a bit more at ease and was okay with not knowing what I should be doing. For me at that moment, I think it was more about the experience than trying to figure out all the motions and things I should be saying. Needless to say, I think I might go back to church a couple more times before I leave Italy. After mass, I decided to go for a run. I was up and it was pretty nice out, so why not? I knew it was going to rain at some point during the day, so I decided to take advantage of the day while it wasn't raining. It was nice because I haven't run in a couple of weeks and it felt great. I mean, not really while I was running, but after it did. I realized that I needed to start running more again because I don't like that feeling of getting tired early on in the run. Since it has been crazy with all the tourists here this weekend, I just went to the fortress to run. There would be less people and it wouldn't be weird to run there. Once I got back to my apartment, it started to rain a bit. I was glad I went for a run when I did. I mainly stayed inside watching some shows and eventually watched the Hunger Games. I really liked it, but I also felt like I got a few things mixed up between the books. I kept thinking they left some important stuff out from the first book that was actually in the second one. But it was still good and I'm glad I was able to see it. Today I woke up and saw that it was really nice out, so I went outside for most of the day. I went to get a cappuccino and a pastry and then went on a little walk. I finally found the Fonte Branda, which was referenced in a book I read (Juliet). It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I'm glad I found it. From here there are a few escalators - yes, escalators - that take you up near the Duomo. It's crazy and weird to know that Siena has escalators! I made my way back to my street and found a really cute, short walking path that gives you some incredible views and would be a great place to read, have lunch, or just chill out. I walked some more and found a place for my parents to park their rental car when they come to Siena. I also finally found the fountain for my contrada. I'm amazed that I never saw it until now seeing as how I've passed it multiple times. Katie has told me that it is very obvious if I just go down to the end of our street and it is. I felt very stupid when I saw it. After that I just went to the piazza del campo and read for the rest of the afternoon. It was gorgeous out today, with a clear blue sky and the sun shining. Even though there were tons of people sitting in the campo, it was wonderful. I read my book and people watched. All in all, it was a great weekend and I'm glad I was able to spend Easter in my own city. :)