Venezia

Our last destination in Italy was none other than the legendary Venice. It was as beautiful as I imagined and a great way to say goodbye to such a picturesque country. We arrived around noon on Friday, and immediately set out for our hostel. It had been a while since we had to carry our large packs, and let me tell you, getting lost while carrying an extra 40 lbs on your back is no picnic. I had been warned that Venice was a confusing city to navigate, and tried to prepare for it, but of course we got lost anyway. After ditching all the extra weight at our hostel Luke and I set out to do some exploring. We went to St. Mark’s Basilica, which is famous for it’s gold mosaic ceilings, and explored the surrounding area. The canals were more crowded with tourist-filled gondolas than I had expected. Our friends who visited Venice a few weeks ago warned us that the Gondola rides were extremely expensive, and since we didn’t have others to split the cost with we decided to forgo the experience. However, we found that the romantic side of Venice isn’t limited to gondola rides. I researched the best places for aperitivo in Venice and we found a lovely place tucked away down a back alley. At first I was sure that we had gone the wrong way, because the alley opened up to a seemingly empty courtyard and dock. We walked out to the dock and looked out over the Grand Canal for a while. When we turned around, we realized that there was in fact a little vine-covered restaurant tucked away in a back corner of the courtyard. We went in, and were greeted with a warm little Italian Tavern and a lively group of patrons. We each ordered a spritz and quickly descended upon the accompanying food. It was some of the best food we had in Italy, and it came free with our drinks! I seriously love aperitivo. There were two kinds of pasta, each yummier and more unique than I could even describe to you, as well as different kinds of bruschetta. We sat talking, eating, and drinking for several hours. When our bellies were full and our cheeks were pink, we walked outside to find a bunch of people sitting on the dock enjoying their food and drinks, as well as the beginning of a sunset. We joined them  and watched gondolas float past as we soaked in all the beauty of Venice. 

Saint Mark's Basilica

Handsome Gondolier

Rialto Bridge

 See the tiny little place in the left corner?

Holy Yum

Arrivederci Firenze!

As I write this, I am on a train leaving Florence. Leaving Florence for good. It is a difficult notion to accept, that I won’t be coming back to my Italian home again. I had such a wonderful time on this trip and cannot believe that it came to an end so quickly. When we first arrived in Florence I felt like I would have more time than I could possibly need to see everything I wanted to in the city, but I could not have been more wrong. Florence is so jam-packed with beauty and history; I’ve realized that it would take a lifetime to see it all. The first two weeks went by at a regular pace, but these last two weeks were a whirlwind. Between midterms, finals, long weekend trips, and more fun than I can express, I barely had time to catch my breath. And already we are on our way to our next adventure! Today we will be exploring Venice, followed by three days in Munich, Germany. After that, who knows! We are still trying to decide what destinations our budget will allow. This trip ended up being much more expensive than I originally planned on so most likely we will have to cut a country from the roster. Even though I’ll be going home with an empty bank account, this trip has been well worth it. I’m not even sure that I can put into words all the things I have learned about life along the way- and we’re just getting started!

Our last week in Florence consisted of a lot of schoolwork, including our last paper on Florentine monuments, our final exam, and turning in our travel journals. By the way, I got a 99% on the final exam. Wahoo!

This week consisted of a lot of ‘lasts’ and it was really difficult to accept each one. We had our last day of class, our last night out, our last group dinner, our last gelato from our favorite shop, and our last walk up the dreaded stairs to our apartment (I thought I would have gotten used to walking up four flights of stairs every day, but I didn’t. None of us did). On Wednesday night we had a big dinner planned with our class at a restaurant called Il Gatto e la Volpe (the cat and the fox). I was a little weary of the price of the meal since we’re trying to budget well, but once we sat down we were spoiled with mountains of delicious Italian food and wine. Soft, warm bread, piles of salami and prosciutto with grilled vegetables and mozzarella, chianti wines, and three different kinds of the yummiest pasta I’ve ever had. It was well worth it. But the best part about the night was spending it with our classmates and, most of all, our professor Leonardo. I know I’ve mentioned it before but I really cannot stress enough what a wonderful professor he was. After our final exam, he left the room while we all filled out our course evaluation forms for UC Davis, and every single person absolutely gushed about his teaching skills and helpful personality. So when it came time for our final dinner we organized to get him a parting gift. We had a group photo printed and framed for him, and we all signed (more like wrote novels in) a card for him. When we presented them to him at dinner he seemed so grateful, if not a little flustered by the attention, and thanked us in return for being such a mellow class. He said he heard horror stories from the other professors before coming and was terrified of the troubles we might cause.

After dinner he took us all out for gelato and we ate and talked in the street for a while. Then we each got our turn to take pictures with our favorite professor! He was such a trooper.

Leonardo looking 'happy'

Leonardo looking 'scared'

Such a great group!

 Yesterday was our last full day in Florence and I feel like we spent it well. We woke up early and FINALLY visited the duomo. We didn’t get a chance to see the bascillica or climb the bell tower but it was still a great experience. We shopped around the markets a bit before heading home to clean and pack. Then, in the pouring rain, Luke, Kelcey and I headed out to the best sandwich shop in town and ended up sitting on the steps of the Palazzo Vecchio eating our sandwiches in the rain.

Inside the duomo

Later on, we met friends at Gusto Pizza and walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo to eat our dinner and watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the clouds blocked most of the sun but the city lights at night were still incredibly beautiful. Afterward, we walked down to “our place” to get gelato (Raspberry and orange chocolate for me!) and enjoyed the chatter of local Italians. On our walk home we crossed the Ponte Vecchio and were surprised to find a ballet performance occurring. It was definitely a modern interpretation of ballet, and Kelcey pointed out that the ballerinas seemed to be a little inexperienced, but it was still incredibly entertaining. We spent the rest of the night packing our belongings into our little turtle shells (that’s what I like to call our packs, because they’re basically our home that we carry around on our backs).

Thanks so much for making this trip possible mom!!

Ponte Vecchio at night

Last time at our favorite gelato shop <3

This morning, after getting all of our stuff together, we walked down to our favorite caffe and ordered some of the best cappuccinos in all of Florence. The city was so quiet in the early morning, and I was really glad that we got the chance to enjoy all of our favorite things before we left.

The three of us walked to the train station together and said our goodbyes in the lobby. Kelcey is on her way to London for a few days before heading home. I’m glad I got the opportunity to live with a friend for a while; It was definitely a different experience. And I’m certainly going to miss seeing her so much when she goes back to LA!

Now, as much as I enjoyed my time in Florence and am going to miss it, I am extremely excited to embark on our next adventure!

Exploring Tuscany

     In addition to lots of reading and writing assignments for our class we had two day trips planned, one to Lucca and one to Percussina. Our first trip, to Lucca, was meant to give us a better picture of Italian life outside of the large tourist-filled cities. Lucca is a charming walled city about an hour outside of Florence. It reminded me a lot of Florence, but on a much smaller scale. The streets were narrow, bright, and filled with cute little shops. It was the first big activity we did as a group (outside of class), and it was a really nice way to get to know our fellow classmates a little better. I am really grateful for the group we ended up with on this trip. Everyone is very laid-back and fun to be around.

Anyway, in Lucca we meandered through the city at a leisurely pace, stopping to visit a few churches along the way. We got lunch at a little sandwich shop, which is an incredibly difficult feat when you are traveling with a group of twenty and everyone is ordering their own specialized sandwich. After eating on a set of church steps (we were quite the sight, all twenty of us lined up side by side munching on giant sandwiches) Leonardo took us to Guinigi tower. The tower is really unique in that it has a tree garden on top. After climbing a respectable number of stairs, 230 to be exact, we were greeted with beautiful views of the terra-cotta roofed city and surrounding countryside. I have to say, I love Tuscany. I could see myself here long-term, enjoying the small-town Italian lifestyle until the day I die. Sorry mom, looks like you'll just have to ship all my things over here! ; )

Lucca was really nice though because it felt like we had the city to ourselves. It wasn't so crowded and hostile, like many of the larger cities seem to be at times. It was overall a really beautiful, comfortable day.

 Guinigi Tower

There was an exhibit throughout the city featuring art made of cardboard. 

This one depicts a wolf emerging from a river.

Also made of cardboard

 Walking along the walls

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     During the third week of our program we were reading Machiavelli's book The Prince, a very influential text about power, politics, and the realities one must face when dealing with the two in order to be an effective leader. Luke, Kelcey and I had to present on sections of the book for class discussion one day, and we really got into it. So after all the research and reading we had done it was a particularly rewarding experience to take a class trip to Percussina to visit the house and Inn where Machiavelli wrote the book during his infamous exile from Florence. 

But before we went to Percussina, we started the day in Montelupo (a small town famous for ceramics) to visit the ceramics museum. The ceramics were beautiful, and it was impressive to see the progression of techniques used to create them, but my favorite part of visiting the museum was definitely when we found a room that had coloring supplies (presumably for small children). Even though we are all here to explore, learn, and grow into more well-rounded adults, it was really nice to indulge our inner-children for a while. There were pages with black and white images of different kinds of pottery and ceramic plates that we colored-in and decorated, and some people just doodled on blank pages as well. Our professor was a little confused by our behavior, and even seemed a little embarrassed by us- such strange American students we are. Hah. But we all enjoyed it so much anyway. Afterward, we walked into town, got sandwiches (we were much more organized this time!) and chatted until it was time to head to our next destination.

 So much fun

 Nearly all the shops in Montelupo had personalized ceramic addresses and information plates

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     We arrived in Percussina after a beautiful bus ride through the picturesque Tuscan country-side. When we pulled up I was in awe. This tiny little town emulated exactly what I had pictured Tuscany to look like. It was all hills, greenery, cobblestones, and vineyards. I felt like I had fallen into a dream.

Our professor had arranged for a guided tour of the Inn and Machiavelli's house, and our guide even reminded me a bit of Machiavelli. Not only in his looks, but in his quirky Renaissance-style mannerisms too. As it turns out, he does tours at night as well; Only at night, he actually dresses up as Machiavelli and acts out scenes with others depicting his dramatic daily life. If only I had the opportunity to see that!

We saw the desk where Machiavelli actually wrote the Prince, the tavern where he often drank with locals, and the secret tunnel he used to sneak away from his wife to meet with other women. Scandalous! We also got to see the Machiavelli family winery, and did a wine and cheese tasting. The wine was fabulous; I was glad I got to finally try Chianti wines, and they served the best parmesan cheese I've ever had. It was such a wonderful trip! I am only sad that you (yeah, you!) didn't get to experience it with me. Missing you all! 

 Inside of the restaurant was so cute- I wanted to stay for dinner!

 The desk where Machiavelli wrote The Prince

Exterior of Machiavelli's house

 You can see a little bit of Florence from here, which must have been 

torturous for Machiavelli during his exile.