So Verona was beautiful. We got to see Romeo and Juliet's houses and her balcony which was neat and it is a very historical city so we saw churches built soo long ago! Here's a picture of the balcony below. The wall you walk past to get to the balcony is also covered with writing from people who visit with their names and the name of who they love. We also learned that they repaint the wall every six months because that's how fast it fills up and it is quickly filled once again! 

Then we went to Venice which was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Gondolas are exactly what you picture and the rowers of them really do wear striped sweaters and little hats! It was such a cultural experience. It was also interesting to see a city traveling strictly through water, there are no cars! It's an island so we had to take a boat to get there and when we arrived it looked almost fake because of how beautiful it is and surprisingly the water is actually very clean! We even got to see a parade in the city center which was very exciting

The trip was amazing but I was sitting in a restaurant last night getting dinner for my friends 21st birthday and I realized how different restaurants are here. Here are so major differences

1. You don't tip, you're not expected to however a lot of places can include a service fee. And because you're not tipping them waiters can take their time serving you and you're not their first priority like in the U.S.

2. It's very rare to find tap water here. You have to buy bottled water at every meal

3. There is a fee for sitting, so a lot of places each person has to pay to use their tables so take away or to go is very popular here

4. Multiple courses are very popular, therefore the serving sizes are really small, but like i said before, the food here is AMAZING!

I'll keep you updated with more, one of my friends from Saint Michaels who's studying in Grenada, Spain is coming to visit for the weekend so I'm very excited to show her around the city!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! A lot of exploring of Florence took place this past week and we truly saw a lot of the main tourist points and really experienced even more  beauty. One place i went with my roommates was the Uffizi which is an art museum in Florence separated into numerous rooms based on artist as well as the time the works are from it was magnificent to see all the different artwork. It definitely could have taken a whole day to see and appreciate all the work but we just walked through it and took in as much as we could. This weekend we're headed to Venice and Verona with API, the program I'm in, and they provide transportation and hotel as well as dinner and breakfast so it's definitely going to be a great trip. I'm so excited to see all that the two cities has to offer from Juliet's balcony to the gondolas. I'll put some pictures up and let you know all about it as soon as I'm back, hope you're all enjoying your semester (:

FOOD.

I cannot even begin to describe how delicious the food has been here. Not only are the unique dishes amazing but even simple dishes like spaghetti and marinara sauce are truly unique and mouthwatering. It is noticeable how small the dishes are here compared to home but that is because the food is that much more satisfying. One of the dishes that I love is pear ravioli; i strongly recommend trying these if you are ever given the chance...it sounds interesting but it truly is to die for. Below is another kind of ravioli, walnut which had really rich sauce and it was quite the perfect combo. 

The Cappuccino's are beautifully designed and a lot stronger than they are at home. They go perfect with all the homemade pastries to and are really cheap, a lot cheaper than Dunks or Starbucks. 

Below is just a simple spaghetti dish with garlic sauce that honestly was amazing. I even saved some so I could eat it again for dinner.

It's REALLY hard to find food here that is not satisfying and it's even been fun learning how to cook more having our own apartment. Shopping is another interesting concept because everything's in Italian so it's sometimes a guessing game to what you're buying like we had to find out Aglio is garlic, so we could make some garlic bread and trying to make sure we were getting the right kind of milk took about 20 minutes...it is worth it though and it's so helpful to learning the language! Hope I didn't make you too hungry talking about the amazing meals here! 

Monte Carlo was gorgeous! We were there when they were starting to set up for the annual yacht festival which was neat to see how big and exquisite those can actually get. our tour guide also told us that just to open a bank account in Monte Carlo you need at least a million dollars...so you can only imagine how beautiful it was. We also saw the royal palace and then visited Grace Kelley's grave, which was really neat to see. We then stayed in Nice which had nice beaches and gave us a little taste of the French Culture with delicious crepes every morning. Here are some pictures of the views we saw!  

The other night i also went to a football match (soccer) which is a very common Italian night out. It was really exciting and fun to see how into the sport everyone is here and it was great to just be in the atmosphere of a sporting event. Below is the view of some of the stands from our seats! 

This past weekend we stayed in Florence and explored. We went to the Medici palace, which used to be the home to one of the founding families of Florence. It was breathtakingly beautiful with all the exquisite details and art work. Even the backyard was amazing with numerous gardens. It was neat to see how long Italy's been around too, a lot of the art work there dates back to the sixteen hundreds! It was great and I'll keep you posted with more (:

Pisa was great! We saw the leaning tower and took the pictures with the tower making it look like we were holding it up, classic tourist pic. But then we learned all about the history and why its leaning which is because of the way the soil is and all about how they had to make it safe to go in and everything. It was really interesting. Then we stayed at a hotel with the group my friends and I got to experience an Italian wedding! That was really neat. On Sunday we went to Cinque Terre which is five different towns along the coast and the houses literally sit on the edge of the hills and its beautiful but also puzzling how that works. It did take my breath away at each corner though. On a completely random side note, the gelato here it to die for. I get it pretty much everyday and have become so obsessed with trying new flavors and they even let you sample them and get two at a time. It's my absolute favorite addition to the food, which I must say has completely changed my opinion on pasta and pizza. Every dish here is amazing!

This weekend my friends and I are heading to the french Riviera! We're going to sit on the beaches in Nice and go to Monte Carlo at night. I'm really excited and excited to see more beautiful places. I'll let you know how that goes (:

                                                              Where we're heading this weekend!

This Weekend we're heading out on our first excursion through the program API, which is the study abroad program I went through. We're heading to Pisa and Cinque Terre! Below are some pictures of where we're visiting and I'll update you as soon as I'm back!

Bella

This city has absolutely taken my breath away. Each corner I turn there is another beautiful sight and its hard to decide what to take pictures of. So far, I arrived Saturday due to flight issues, went out on the town with all my roommates that night and then Sunday had orientation activities such as dinner on the roof of a hotel overlooking all of Florence. SO basically its all been magical. Classes started today which reminded me that i'm not just here to observe the beauty. I only had one class Italian, and it will definitely be difficult but extremely usefull for just everyday life. The residents here love when you try to speak Italian and often will correct or help you speak it because they respect your effort. So far I've mastered hello, thank you, good morning and nice to meet you. It's a start I guess...but this is definitely a challenge. Below are just a few pictures of what I've captured so far, but I'll keep you updated with new pictures and all my experiences!

Architecture down the street!

Ceiling of my bedroom...babies dancing with wine

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen, the Duomo

Ceiling of the hotel we ate dinner at

Florence at night (: