Past 2 weeks...

What a whirlwind last 2 weeks! Being here in Florence so far has proved to be a lot different than what London was and it is going by fast! The first few days in Florence saw us staying at a hostel and getting breakfast and dinner. On the 31^st, we moved into our host families. I am living with Brian and our host parents are Bruno and Christina Campus and their son Francesco. They don’t know very much English but they are so nice and do their best to communicate with us. While I am taking an Italian class, I am not nearly at a level to understand everything yet but its getting there! In their apartment, me and Brian share a room and bathroom and it’s nice to finally be able to settle in for awhile and relax. Our bathroom is a challenge though, we have to use a towel to block water from getting into the hallway! Another minor problem is the fact the mosquitoes are so bad here-we finally found a mosquito killer thing called a Vape that they use to kill them. Its helped a lot in decreasing the amount of bites I have. The food they cook for us is soooooo good—Calamari risotto, fish, pasta, veal, salad, everything is just amazingly good. One of my favorites is the tortellini we had last week in a cheese sauce, it was amazing! Overall, it has been a great experience so far living with them and I look forward to the next few weeks!

As for classes, they are going good. I have Sheets for the Table, which is with Nick Regiacorte from Knox 3 days a week and so far it is really interesting. We have been reading numerous folktales and other Italian stories to get an idea about their culture. We have Janet’s Florence Art class twice a week and have been to numerous churches so far, including the Duomo, St. Maria Novella, and Santa Croce. All are beautiful churches and anyone should visit them if they ever come here. My third class is Italian, which meets 3 days a week and is fun, but challenging. I find myself understanding the language more but not being able to speak it as well as I wish I could. Overall school is good. Since we do not have internet at our host families, I go to Linguaviva early and stay late and use the internet there. It lets me do some homework and gives me just enough time to talk to family and friends. We normally get done with class around 4 and do not eat until 8:30pm so I have plenty of time for homework before, but not after dinner!

As for the city itself, I am still adjusting to walking a half hour every morning to class but its getting better. Luckily, we have amazing weather on our side-highs in the mid 70’s-I have been wearing shorts and a t-shirt most of the week, its awesome. I hope the weather at home finally perks up by the time I get back! The prettiest view of the city thus far has been at Piazza Michelangelo, which has a magnificent view of the city and the surrounding hills. Florence from above is so pretty, but it is a little dirty when you get close. The drivers are the worst here, it is almost like pedestrians don’t exist to them!

There really isn’t anything else new with me besides wandering the city and going to school. This past weekend was Easter and the city was alive with all the tourists, many Americans surprisingly. I did not go see the cart explode at the Duomo, but I heard it was great. We had a giant Easter Lunch at our professors Sunday which was phenomenal and I still think I am full! I ended up going to a craft fair and got some nice little things for my sister and grandma and I plan on going back tomorrow as well! Other than that, Amanda and Sarah come to visit this week then they head to Roma. Coincidently, we go to Rome with our program on Saturday and will be seeing them there. After, we go to Pompeii and come back to Florence for a day of class then we have a great 5 day weekend to travel. I am looking at Pisa, Cinque Terre, Lake Como, Siena, and any other places in Italy that are close and cheap! Oh well, it is time for dinner, Ciao!

Last Two Weeks...

Sorry about the delay in the blog. With traveling and finals, things fell to the wayside. Anyways, here goes my last week in London and my awesome spring break.

London

During our last week, nothing too exciting happened-We saw Judi Dench in Madame de Sade and The Convicts Opera as well. Both were ok, not my favorite shows to date though. I spent most of the week writing, studying, and hurriedly packing for my spring break. I managed to do the London Eye while I was in London and the sights were magnificent. I am so happy I was able to do it and it was a good capstone experience, since I knew what a lot of the major buildings were versus from when I originally got there. We ended Sarah’s class with a river cruise which was really nice and overall I have to say I enjoyed my time in London immensely.

I am trying to think of any life lessons learned thus far and I think the only major one was don’t worry about tomorrow. If anything, that’s what I will take away from my experience in London. As Matthew said, "...Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day” (6:34).

Paris

On Saturday morning, I began my journey to Paris. I boarded the Eurostar with many of my classmates and we trained it two hours to the city. When we got there, we stowed our stuff in Amanda’s place and set out in exploring the city. We first hit up Notre Dame which was really pretty, but not nearly like Westminster Abbey—one bonus though, you could take pictures! After that we wandered around town a lot, ending up at the Pompidou and then ending at the Arc de Triomphe for the day. We had a really good pizza for dinner and then did what apparently is very Parisian-drink wine out of the bottle along the Senne. George almost got us into a fight which would have been very bad and it was just a strange, but good night overall.

The next day saw us puttzing around at first and then finally going to Versailles, which was beautiful. I wish I had gone in because I am sure it would have been amazing. The gardens were huge and we ended up having an adventure trying to find the entrance to the Little Hamlet, but in the end we failed. After Versailles we hung out, got baguettes for dinner, and waited for Cady and them to meet up with us. We ended up going to the Eiffel Tower that night and it was beautiful. Every hour it twinkles and it was so much fun to just sit there and think wow, I can’t believe I am here! We ended up wandering around a lot and went to the Louvre, which was really pretty at night and the Pyramids stand out so much as well.

On Monday we slept in and then decided to go to Montemarte, which had a really pretty church and a bunch of little street shops. This then led us to the Moulin Rouge, which is not as exciting in person as you think! All there is was a Red windmill and that’s it. Boring. I had that day a Banana-Nutella crepe and let me just say, it was the best thing in the world. I highly recommend it! After we went out for a drink and ended the night rather early.

On Tuesday, me and George went to the Louvre to find out it was closed on Tuesdays. I was really upset but we decided to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower instead. The views were breathtaking and I would highly recommend it for anyone who has the spare change. I am sure it would have been great at night too. After the tower, we met back up with everyone and went out again, this time to a more American bar to play beer pong. I was kind of like ehhh whatever but some of my company was head over heals for going to play. After that, we went to what is called an Absinthe bar and tried, well absinthe. It wasn’t the crazy green stuff that makes you go looney but it was very much like a piece of licorice in your mouth. It wasn’t too exciting, an experience more than anything.

Bonn

On Wed. I went to the train station and started my trek to Bonn. I know its kind of out of the way in terms of big cities in Germany, but my friend Jenni is studying there and I got free room for a few days. Eventually I arrive in Bonn and for the life of me, I can’t find Jenni. I searched for an hour before we finally ran into eachother. Thank god because I was getting really worried. We went to dinner then at a nice Greek place and walked around with my luggage and a beer. Oh Germany! That night we went to her buddy Tom’s and just hung out, it was a pretty relaxing night.

On Thursday I slept in while Jenni went to class. It was nice to rest. She then came back and we grabbed lunch and she went back to class and I went and had a long and much needed chat with my mom. We went to the store and got a crate of beer for the night-what’s really cool is you can return the crate and bottles for about 3 Euro as part of a recycling initiative. It is pretty sweet. That night her friends came over and then we all went to one of the dorm bars, which let me just say, is a little bit shady. Eventually we left and called it a night, with me having a pretty decent one.

48 Hours of Hell

To pretext, not everything in the next 48 hours is hell but a majority of it is. Be warned.

To start, I woke up feeling terrible and we went to get Brats for lunch. I was able to try Mezzo Mix for the first time and it was create. It is orange soda and coke mixed together to make an awesome combination. We then chilled and I talked to my mom again and we decided to go out to dinner. I got some type of Steak Florentine, which was good. This is where the night goes bad. About 2 hours after dinner, my stomach feeling nasty, I end up giving up all I had eaten that day. We go out for drinks after and I get an iced tea and water, same thing happens. I could not hold anything down for the life of me. It was terrible. If you want more info, ask, but I doubt you do.

On Saturday, we woke up and went to Trier to meet Mallory, another girl I go to school with, who is tripping it for a few weeks in Europe for her program. Trier was really pretty and I wish I had not forgotten my camera. The churches were really cool as was the Porto Nigra, also known as the Black Gate. After Trier I got on a train to Koblenz to get on a train to Milan to get on one to Florence. This is where hell happens again. I get to the station and I can’t find what platform my train is. I look and look but no avail. I finally ask some guy who doesn’t know English but gets what I am asking and points me to the right direction. Well I get to the platform and it’s the right one or so I thought. I waited for almost an hour after I was supposed to depart and nothing. So I went around to seacrch and when I came back up, it was there, but on a different platform. I ran do the train and was like 30 seconds ahead of when it would take off. Thus my weekend of hell. I found my coach and I simply passed out and awoke this moring to Italy and drug dog searches, since the train had originally come from Amsterdam. I also am out 60 dollars because my train ticket to Florence from Milan could not be refunded and I missed the train I was scheduled for because the over night one was late and because of the stupid time change. So as I sit here writing this on a train to Florence. I go into my first weeks in Italy a little perturbed but also excited. Day Countdown=55!

One Week Left...

What a week! On Monday we went to Apsley House and Hyde Park Corner to look at war and memorials... it was really a good experience for me since my final paper has to do with that. On Tuesday I saw the production Stovepipe and just wow was it amazing... It is about an Iraq Mercenary who looks for his lost friend and finds more than he bargained for. It was done in a promenade setting which was really interesting and added to the show. On Wed. night me and Jacqie saw Mamma Mia and it was so much fun! The audience was energetic and just a good feel good show. On Thursday my fateful trip to Amsterdam started and boy was it a blast. We flew out that night and got to our hostel at about 11pm, where we found people all over hanging out, talking. It was a great setting and so me and George ventured out a little and then called it a night. On Friday we spent the day looking at museums, the Van Gough was really cool as well as the Rembrandts and the Heineken Brewery--who could forget that? Friday saw us also meeting up with Anna, a girl who stayed for a week on the bottom floor of our flat and who is from the Netherlands. It was great to see her and she took us to a real Dutch pub. Good times. After getting some sleep we ventured out the next morning in full swing, looking around the city some more and going to one of the infamous sex museums and the red light district. It was interesting needless to say. One of the best things about Amsterdam has to be the canals--they make the city very elegant looking and provide a nice little change of scenery. Also, everyone rides their bikes there. They had a parking garage for bikes. Bikes are everywhere and when you hear the ding of a bell, you bolt out of the way. Other than that, I worked on a paper today, saw the festivities in Trafalgar square for St. Patty's day and that is it! God only one week left and so much to do in the meantime!

Sorry...

Sorry about the delay in posts... this week has been a rough one, mostly because I was sick and felt crappy the entire time. This week was interesting with a trip to the Chiswick House, which was had a really nice garden in the sunny weather. We saw a production of Twelfth Night this week which was phenomenal. It really brought the story to life for me and I am glad we got to see it. We also managed a trip to the Soane Museum, which was pretty good. It was about a guy who collected molds of architectural wonders and what not and his house was ridiculously cluttered. I finally figured out my paper topics for the final week. It was really hard for me to figure out, not sure why. I am looking at the IWM and war poems, both subjects which actually interest me. We went to Mango again this week and got some free shots and what not. Friday we went to see a stabbing/robbery trial which was pretty cool. The judges and lawyers wear little wigs and robes and everything is so proper, with the CCTV schedule being used all the time. Damn cameras! 4 million in London and they still have not dropped the crime rate. We also went to Lincolns Inn, which was amazing. It is a school for barristers, the english equivalent of a lawyer and I was awed by the buildings and paintings and just how cool the place is to learn. Jacqie and I managed to get tickets to Mamma Mia this coming week so that should be fun. Needless to say I ended my week with a few pints of guinness and anxiously awaiting for Amsterdam!

Friends from around...

This week has been one of the fullest ones yet. On Monday, we made a trip to Stratford Upon Avon with class. We saw Shakespeares birthplace and a few other local attractions the first night. We also saw the Tempest, which was done in the fashion of African customs, similar to the Lion King. It was amazing! I would say this is probably the best Shakespeare production I have ever seen. The costuming was awesome and the acting was superb. We spent the night at the Forget Me Not B and B and Tuesday saw us traveling to Mary Ardens Farm, which had numerous different animals and to Anne Hathaways House. After we went to Warwick Castle, which was one of the touristy places I have seen. I also had the opportunity to hold a Falcon, which was really cool.

On Wed., our friends from Paris, Amanda, Lucy, and Sarah, came to London for a short visit. It was so much fun hanging out with them and we tried to take them to all the local London establishments. We ended up going to Tiger Tiger Club which was a lot of fun and saw us meeting some french girls. There is a good story with this so if you want to know, ask me, its not appropriate for the internet. Thursday saw us going to see Wicked and a walk with Sarah around the museums and what not for class. For Wicked, we had seats five rows from the front and it was amazing! On Friday, we went to Spitafields and then to Dennis Severs house, which is modeled to look like a house from the 1800's and was really cool. Now come Friday night. We went to see England People Very Nice and it was very interesting. We went to the platform by the author and someone stood up and started shouting the author was racist and it turned into this big thing with the guy getting on stage and trying to debate the author before finally being removed. While the guy had the right to say what he wanted, he chose the wrong time and place for it. Not only did the audience get mad, I am sure they lost any interest in hearing his point due to his rudeness. Oh well thats the week so far!

The Week...

This week has been a blast.  On Monday, we wandered around the city and welcomed the nice weather for the next few weeks with 50's and no rain!  We saw Mrs. Affleck at the National, which while interesting, did not do anything for me in the end.  We had the opportunity this week to climb to the top of the Monument and St. Pauls Cathedral which was awesome!  It was like 1000 combined steps but we had super good views of the city.  And on Friday, I left for Ireland and this is what I am going to talk about coming up.

Ireland

Friday

We took a 7am plane from Heathrow on BMI and it was a great ride with really nice seats and all.  Once we got there, we took a double decker to our hostel and tried to check in but it was obviously too early.  So with this, we went on an adventure.  We got passes for a bus and took a sightseeing tour of the city to all the main points.  We ended at the Guinness factory and since we were really early, we toured the neighborhood.  Eventually we took our tour which was AMAZING!  Guinness has 4 main ingredients-Hops, Barley, Water, and Yeast and its burnt hops that give it the toasted flavor it has.  We got a free pint at the top of the place, which has a 360 degree view of the city and was breathtaking.  After this, we went to a pub for some food and I continued the Guinness tradition with Guinness stew and a pint along with it.  After we finally made it back to our hostel and checked in to an 18 person room.  Boy was that interesting, but at the same time, kind of cool.  Later that night we found ourselves going to Temple Bar, which is the big bare district and immediately you could tell almost everyone was drunk and all the pubs were jammed with people.  There was street performers as well, throwing fire, pretending to be a statue, and playing some good irish music.  We ended up stopping and getting some Irish whiskey to sip on while we listened to a guy play.  While walking, we saw the Garda, which is the police, take down a drunk guy and watched it fight them.  It was really funny as they used their batons and everything.  Oh what fun!  After, we managed to get back to the hostel and here comes day 2.

Saturday

On Saturday, we woke up, ate a good breakfast and went on a tour of the Wicklow Mountains.  The countryside was amazing, so green and full of life.  The streams and rivers were equally wonderfully, with water so clear I thought I could drink it.  This took up the majority of our day and we visited Avoca, Glendalough, and thwe Wicklow Gap.  We ended up back at Trinity College and wandered around and eventually made it back to our hostel.  We chilled for awhile and went out to dinner at a pub and I once again got a Guinness, which I think is my new favorite beer.  We wandered Temple Bar again and eventually came back and I tried sleeping but it was to not avail.  I got up at 4am and got on a bus to the airport to fly back to London, knowing I have to come back someday...

As for what I learned... Here is the List...

1. The Irish are the nicest people ever, nicer than the English even.  They help you with everything you could need and they come up to you when they think your in distress.  Super awesome!

2. Don't mess with the Garda.  Plain and Simple.

3. The crosswalks are awesome-they make a little drum beat when its time to cross and beep at you when its time not to.

4. If you can, stay for a long time, trust me, it's worth every minute of it.

5. Going to Ireland made me think a lot about my family and all that and made me realize how I miss them but also how to live.  The Irish enjoy life to the fullest it seems and I think i need to start having this mentality to try and get every last bit out of my short and precious years on this earth.

With this, Cheers! I am off to Stratford Upon Avon for 2 days with class!

Phew...

Sorry about the lack of updates, its been a crazy week.  Monday started off with a trip to Hampton Court, one of the many royal palaces open to the public.  It was rainy and cold, but the trip was nonetheless exciting.  I learned a lot of Henry VIII and the styles of architecture he used in building parts of the palace.  This week we also had the chance to see the Pitman Painters, which was wonderfully done piece about mine workers who become painters and learn about themselves.  Wed. we had a tour of the Banqueting room and got to see the changing of the guard, it was super cool and pictures will come sometime soon!  Thursday had some of us going out for some fun for student night at one of the places here and it was a blast dancing to some good music.  Friday I went to Scotland for the night and even though we had a 5 hour train ride, it was worth it!  Scotland was extremely beautiful with its mountains, the lochs, highlands, and the gothic style architecture.  We ended up going on a Ghost tour which was a lot of fun and let us seem some of the many underground vaults.  We also ate at a place called the Filling Station and it was perfectly American in everywhere, a nice change of pace!  Saturday I took a tour of Edinburgh castle which was amazing and was the first castle I saw!  Today brings research and writing because I cannot neglect my schoolwork as much as I wish I could!