First Week of Classes

It's been awhile since I have updated, but it has been a busy past week because the sun actually came out all last week and we had lots of touring to do!

This week has been our first week of real classes. After our intensive Italian crash-course, which I thoroughly enjoyed and received an A in, I began my core and elective classes on Monday. I am taking Italian Renaissance, Civilization and Culture, Italian Literature, Italian Philosophy, Italian and Wine Tasting! So far, I have really enjoyed my classes, and thoroughly enjoy how the subjects of the classes revolve around Florence. It is really neat to learn about the Church that has been sitting right down my street, and all of the cultural and historical aspects of where I am living. We also get to take a lot of tours of the Churches and Museums with our classes, which will be worthwhile because we have our own tourguide AND our teachers there with us. I haven't started Wine Tasting yet, though I will in just a few short hours. My friend who had her class yesterday said that we have five glasses of wine per day - woahh!! I am excited to come home and share a wealth of knowledge on wine with friends and family!

Last Monday we toured the Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore- the main Church in Florence) inside and we climbed it. It was 463 steps each way! It was a bit hard climbing and descending with my boot on, but I wasn't going to let that get in my way of seeing a breathtaking view of this city. It was absolutely amazing to be up there! I told Mom that she may have skipped out on climbing the Eiffel Tower, but there is no way I am letting her skip out on this (so get ready!). We were able to see absolutely everything in Florence, including our street, the market, Santa Croce - everything! I could've sat up there for hours. We had a ton of fun fooling around up there and taking pictures - we were just so excited that the sun was actually out and we could do something!
To the left is Stachay, Pot, me, Marielle and Rebekka on top of the Duomo.

On Wednesday, the boys made our apartment dinner (we are doing this tradition each week and trading off who has to cook). Mom, Dad and Grandma would never believe it - but I tried eggplant for the first time! Niema cooked eggplant and chicken parmesan, and it was delicious. After all the years that I have refused to eat it when Grandma put it under my nose, I finally tried it, and she'd be happy to hear that I enjoyed it. Theresa gave me lots of advice about when I come study here, but the one thing I really, really am happy she suggested is that I should try everything that is in front of me while I am here - when else will I be in Italy and have the chance to eat authentic eggplant parmesan?

After out Italian exams on Friday, Patee, Marielle, Rebekka, Stacey and I headed for the train station, where we took the train to Perugia, Umbria, which borders Tuscany. It was about a two-hour train ride, and kind of a random place we decided to go to. Stacey and I had read about it in our guide books, and it sounded like a lot of fun because of the student life and population there. It is such a beautiful town! It is so hilly and SO quiet compared to Firenze. I LOVED it - it is by far my favorite place we have been so far. We stayed in a hostel/hotel that was recommended in our book, called Hotel Umbria. It was a GREAT location! We were right in the middle of EVERYTHING. When we got there on Friday evening, we walked down the street and headed towards the sights we wanted to see. We especially wanted to see the Piazza IV Novembre (picture below), which is the social center of Perugian life. Conveniently, our hotel was right outside of it! Piazza IV Novembre is where lively locals, students, residents and tourists hang out at night and drink on the steps after hitting the bars - it is surrounded by several bars

. The Duomo of Perugia is the background of Piazza IV Novembre, which is known as Cattedrale Di San Lorenzo. I found it strange that locals sat on the steps of the Duomo to drink and socialize - in such a religious country, I assumed that would be offensive. We also saw the Fontana Maggiore, which is the big fountain of Perugia and sits in the center of the Piazza IV Novembre. It is really a beautiful setting. It was dark out, but we went back in the morning to take pictures. After the Piazza IV Novembre, we went down Via Rocchi, which is the city's oldest street and a former aqueduct. We walked under the Arco di Etrusco on that street, which is a perfectly preserved Roman arch built on Etruscan pedestals. It didn't seem like too old of a street; I thought they all looked the same. We then went to Via Dei Prioi, which was once one of medieval Perugia's goriest streets - the spikes on the lower walls of the street were once used to impale the rotting heads of executed criminals! We found several spikes and weren't sure which were the right ones, but how gross! I can't believe that those are still there! At the end of the spikes is the Chiesa di San Filippo Nero, which contains Santa Maria di Vallicella's heart at the right of the altar. We looked around that Church for awhile and found the heart, but Mass was beginning - Mass in Latin! - and we had to leave. There was a statue of St. Anthony (patron saint of lost and found) in one of the Chapels with candles underneath it, and I lit another candle for Grandpa there since St. Anthony was his saint. I find statues of St. Anthony everywhere here and think of him whenever I see one. Grandma once told me that Grandpa "needed St. Anthony because he lost everything!" Hahah... After we finished our touring in the quaint, calm, small city, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at a restaurant that was recommended in our guide books. It was called Quil Ch'Se Magna st' Inverna. We wanted to go there because of the recommendation, which said we could have a five-course meal for only 14 euro there! Ever since we have been in Italy, we hadn't had an authentic Italian/Grandma meal that gave us five thousand courses. We got there and we had the most amazing dinner ever since we've been here! The first course was bruschetta and soup, called Quadrucci 'n chi ceci. It was delicious! The bruschetta came in all different kinds, including funghi (mushrooms). I tried mushrooms, and so did Patee! I had a few glasses of wine in me, so I may have to try it again.... The soup had a mixture of things in it, including chick peas. The second course was Ciccia 'mpanata - pasta, which was also delicious. The third course was salad and chicken, and the fourth course was some kind of "dolci," which tasted a little bit like tiramisu. They also gave us a liquor shot after dessert, which was kind of like lemoncello - used to cleanse our pallates after eating. We got all of this, and three bottles of wine for only 15 euro each! Amazing!

When we were walking out of the restaurant, we met a girl from the U.S., who works as a study abroad advisor at the University of Umbria. She was sitting with several other girls of all different origin, including from Austria. She invited us to come with them to the popular bars, and we had so much fun with them! We even went to Piazza IV Novembre just so we could take a picture on the popular steps that everyone HAS to sit on on the weekends. We had a great night, even though Marielle lost her iPhone and her Coach leather gloves!

The next morning in Perugia, we went to the Tempio di Sant'Angelo, which is a fifth0century circular church constructed with stone and wood taken from ancient pagan buildings. It was so cute! Right next to that was the Porta Sant'Angelo, which is an arch and tower for visitors to climb up. We climbed up it and found another beautiful view of the city. We then walked into a cute little shop just so Marielle could call the bar asking for her gloves, and turns out the shop was a famous store featured in National Geographic! It was so cute! It had homemade jelly, bread, dips, marmelade and wine! The elderly man who owns the store was helping us, and gave us samples of everything. Since Perugia is famous for its chocolate (which we saw none of up until now... and was one of the reasons we went there!), we bought some chocolate from him. He was so helpful and so nice to us. He also asked us about Obama and told us "Obama is good for the 'yoots.'" We're getting used to this...

After touring around Perugia, we five got to the train station again and rode to Assisi. When we got to Assisi, we missed the bus to take us to il centro (downtown) where some of the sights were. However, a cab driver offered to take us ALL around Assisi and be our own tourguide for the entire day for only 60 euro. At first we didn't think it was a good deal, but I am SOOO glad that we took it because we got to see twice as many sights, and there is NO way we (especially I with a boot!) could have walked to everything since it is all so spread out! He took us first to Basilica di Santa Chiara, who was one of St. Francis' first followers. We went inside there and saw her tomb, as well as her and his relics - like their robes, hair and shoes. I found this stuff absolutely amazing! I can't believe it still exists! He then took us to Tempio di Minerva, which was right across the street from Santa Chiara. Inside this Church, known as the Church of St. Anthony, were golden ceilings and golden altarpieces. It was a Roman temple turned Christian church. Again, since it was the Church of St. Anthony, I lit a candle underneath the statue of St. Anthony and said a prayer for Grandpa. After that, we went to the Church that was built on the site of St. Francis' home as a child. Since St. Francis came from a rich family, the site of his house is HUGE. At the end of the Church is his father's old shop and steeple, which is where St. Francis was born. Our tourguide also took us to Eremo delle Carceri, which is hidden WAY high in the mountains. It is a Church and a bunch of woods, which is the site of where St. Francis and other hermits did their thinking and living. It was a really nice hike, and we also saw a beautiful view of the town of Assisi from that high up. We then traveled to Rocca Maggiore, which is situated uphill from the Duomo. The view is absolutely breathtaking - I feel like I say that so much, but literally everything here is so beautiful and amazing! The Rocca Maggiore is a huge wall that was built when Assisi and Perugia were in war together. We then went to the Cattedrale di San Rufino, which has the baptismal font in which St. Francis and St. Chiara were baptized. Once again, I am so amazed that those things are still here! This Church also has a bunch of glass tiles on the floor that lets you peer into the Roman ruins below. We finally went to the Basilica di San Francesco last. Since there was Mass going on at the time, we couldn't do much touring. We were able to go down to the basement and see the remains and tomb of St. Francis, which I found amazing yet again - his body is almost 1,000 years old. There were also a lot of chapels in the Church, including the Chapel of St. Anthony and the Chapel of St. Martino, which I took a picture of for Daddy! :)

To the right is a picture of Santa Chiara and Saint Frances' clothing, which are in Santa Chiara Cathedral.

On Sunday night we went to a restaurant in Florence called Dante's Pizzeria. Stacey's friend told her about it and told the owner that we know her. Good thing we told him because he gave us our ENTIRE meal for free AND he gave us hats with the restaurant's name! It was yet another amazing Italian meal, and I tried eggplant pizza, which he gave to us as an appetizer. It was pretty good! I had a cheesey pasta with broccoli in it, which, yes, I ate the broccoli, Mom. He also gave me some delicious tiramisu and he gave us three bottles of wine. Can't wait to go back there! :) Everything is SO expensive here and stressing us out, so it's nice to get a free meal! Last night we had the LdM Welcome Reception, which was a reception for ALL of the LdM study abroad students. There are SOOO many students here studying! I had no idea that LdM was this big, and I had no idea that LdM was so organized. I have been so surprised at the organization of the school and the teachers, and I am also somewhat surprised at how laid back the teachers are, who barely care if you are late to class. Then again, it is the culture, which I love. I love being laid back here and not stressed out one bit like I always am at home! :)

Overall, Assisi and Perugia were absolutely wonderful. I love seeing and learning about the religious aspects of this country. I think that being Catholic makes me appreciate it even more, especially being able to know the history already. This weekend we are planning to go to Rome from Thursday through Sunday. Stacey, Rebekka, Patee, Marielle and I hired a tourguide who is giving us a discounted price becuse we are students. So we are taking a private tour of everything on Saturday morning, and on Friday during the day we are going to Formia. I'm not really sure what is in Formia, but I want to go for Grandma and Grandpa since that is where they are from. I know that there are lots of beaches there, as well as Cicero's tomb, but I really want to find Great Grandpa's house and fruit market. I have to research all of that, as well as our other trips tonight. We five have planned every weekend out and are visiting many places including Spain, Ireland, England, Switzerland, Prague, Germany, Austria and all throughout Italy! We are soooo excited! So we are planning all of those tonight together. Rebekka, Stacey, Patee, Marielle and I are having a great time together and we love traveling together. Who would've known fifteen years ago when Stacey and I were playing soccer together that we'd also be studying abroad together in 2009?! Small world.

Only 23 more days until Mark gets here, and I am ecstatic! I am just excited for the month of March in general because Mark visits, as well as Mom and Dad, AND we are traveling to Ireland and Englad for spring break. This semester is going by way too fast already! We are having the time of our lives though.

Also... Patee's new name is POT because her Italian teacher thinks her name is Pot. HA!

I will update after our Rome trip! Until then... ciao!