Svizzera e Lago di Como

"Switzerland and Lake Como"
I am sitting on my bed about to finish the last batch of my postcards while I am studying abroad here in Italy. I get more and more sad every day knowing that it is getting closer and closer to May 15 when my flight leaves for the States. I feel like this city and country has really become a part of who I am... though it always has been, ever since I have been able to first-hand experience the culture and my family's background, it seems so normal to me and I am so used to it now. My biggest fear right now is that I will never return to Italy... or at least Florence. I have learned so much about myself, about my family and heritage, and I am so grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime.

I am really going to miss Luca and Ana when we have to leave. We have been spending a good amount of time with them the past couple of weeks and it makes me sad to leave them. We are making dinner for them tomorrow night, and we are very nervous! We are cooking spaghetti, meatballs and chicken Parmesan ... hopefully they will like it.

On Friday, Patee and I woke up, ate lunch and realized that it was a beautiful day out! So, we went on a walk, intending to go to the river and soak up some sun while it lasted. We got a bit sidetracked because we wanted gelato from the famous Grom gelato place that Patee hasn't tried yet. While we were in line, we met a couple who was visiting from Atlanta and have a daugher and son living in Charlotte near the Arboretum - how coincidental! They were so sweet and I can't even begin to say how nice it was to hear the southern American accent again!

After our gelato, Patee and I walked into Piazza Signoria, where we realized a band and dance was playing in front of Palazzo Vecchio. We don't think they were an Italian organization because it sounded more Greek, but it was entertaining to watch for awhile. We continued our walk down to the Ponte Vecchio to take pictures of it while the sun was out, and we got distracted by the portrait painters. We bought fake portraits for only 8 euro, and I am so excited to frame them and hang them in my room - one of mine is of the river and Ponte Vecchio, and the other is a view of Florence and the Duomo off of Piazza Michelangelo. Pot and I felt relieved to finally have bought them because we have been nervous all semester to buy them... since it is illegal!

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Luca and Ana's leather shop hanging out and drinking wine with them. Luca just broke up with his girlfriend, so he was in a bad mood and was being grumpy... we had no problem telling him that either. Ana was really drunk after drinking wine with customers and spilled a lot of her life drama to us. I think she just really needs a friend besides Luca ... her brother died of cancer two years ago and she thinks she has cancer now. She went to the doctor today and is going back tomorrow, and she asked if we would go with her to get the final answer before we leave. She was crying to us a good amount, but she cheered up after awhile and we drank some more wine together and then went out to dinner together and with Luca... at Dante's. Afterwards, we went to grab some drinks in Piazza Republica with Ana, Giorgio (Luca's uncle who owns the leather store and is a politician in Florence), and their other friend who works in the leather store. We had such a fun time hanging out with our Italian friends! It made me wish that we had done this sooner in the semester... and I am really going to miss them. Sadly, the only type of communication we will be able to have with them is by letter... the old-fashioned letter. Luca and Ana hate technology and refuse to use the computer... we gave them our US numbers, but I won't be able to talk to them on that. Ana tells me over and over again that it is her dream to visit the States. I wish she could, and I have told her she can stay with our family for however long she wants. I think she has had a bit of a rough life, especially with the death of her brother, and she is just such a sweet girl and deserves to take that trip. So, since we have to part from our Italian friends in less than two weeks, we are spending as much time as possible with them this week... we are going to Cinque Terre with Ana this weekend and to the beach with her, and she wants us to come to her Mom's house for dinner another night before we leave.

After grabbing drinks with Ana and Giorgio, it was already 2 a.m. ... and we had to be at the bus to go to Switzerland with the LdM field trip by 4:30 a.m.! Pot and I had yet to pack and shower, so we went home and did all that, got to the bus and did all that without sleeping. We had about a five-hour drive to Tirano, the Italian village at the feet of the Alps where the Berina Express train started. The Berain Express is the highest-rail crossing of the Alps, and it is one of Europe's most outstanding train journeys. Stefano told us that you have to book the train one year in advance in order to guarantee seats on it. The three-hour train ride took us from Tirano to St. Moritz, Switzerland, through the Alps and gave us countless jaw-dropping views as the train climbed higher and higher until 2553 meters. We literally went from sunny weather to winter snow weather and we were absolutely freezing! Nevertheless, this train ride was one of the most beautiful and spectacular things I have done while abroad! I have also never seen so much snow before in my LIFE!

We arrived in St. Moritz to our hotel, which was beautiful! We literally were staying IN the Swiss Alps and looked out our hotel window to see the snowy Alps. I couldn't stop looking out our window because I am still amazed that I just vacationed in the Swiss Alps. Our hotel room was so comfortable - with downcomforters and down pillows and a nice, spacious bathroom and shower ... all of this is very rare for us and our student-pockets. Pot and I were soooo exhausted after not getting any sleep the night before, so we took a nap and read our books until we had to meet for dinner. Our dinner was a "typical Swiss meal" at a restaurant nearby... which we unfortunately had to walk to because I was not dressed for snowy weather! I don't know what i was thinking... but I did not pack or prepare for that weather at all. Our meal was delicious... and very un-Italian! Stefano told us the dinner was "early" at 7:30.. which is funny because it just shows the culture difference... he told us "The Swiss do dinner time different from Italy." Our first course at the restaurant was a salad with delicious dressing and our second course consisted of Swiss cheese fondue with bread... I never thought of that as a full meal, but it definitely filled me up! The cheese taste was soo incredibly strong, but delicious. Our third course was chocolate ice cream cake, which was also yummy... I got two servings because it had nuts in it and so Pot couldn't eat hers. Pot, Caitlin, Aimee, Victoria and I had so much fun together and it was very nice to get to know more and different people than the usual people I have been hanging out with this whole time. On Sunday morning, we got up and had our breakfast at the hotel and headed back onto the bus so we could drive through the region to Lake Como. The drive was almost terrifying - we had to drive on extremely narrow and curved roads through the Alps, but it was also very beautiful. Switzerland is definitely how I pictured it - with the snow and the pretty architecture that reminds me of skiing. I would love to go back there on day since we didn't have much time to explore there.

After a two-hour drive we arrived at Lake Como and took a ferry to the town of Bellagio, where George Clooney owns a house. Above is a picture of Victoria, Franco, me, Stefano, Pot and Aimee in Bellagio. It was so cute and quaint! We lucked out with the weather because it was beautiful. The six of us decided to stick our feet in the freezing cold lake just so we can say that we have touched the water in Lake Como. After Bellagio, we drove to Como, which was even prettier! The six of us ate lunch at a pizzeria on the water, where I tried a different type of pizza for once - tomato, marinara, onion and oregano... it was delicious! Afterwards, we explored the area and had gelato, and Pot and I rode paddle boats on the Lake! It was so much fun!! It was also very difficult because we had a hard time getting anywhere...so we pretty much just sat in the middle of the water and soaked up the sun. It was so relaxing and such an amazing two days. I had been to Lake Como previously with Mom and Dad, and I did not recognize it ONE bit this weekend... I guess when Mom and Dad were here, it wasn't tourist season yet so none of the tourist attractions and restaurants were out yet... it amazed me at how different it was!

After we had to leave Lake Como, we headed back to Firenze. I am so glad that I chose this trip because it was amazing! It is definitely by far one of my favorite trips I have taken this semester... I have never seen so much beautiful scenery in so little time. It makes me think America is so ugly, except for a few places. But here, everything is beautiful... and everyone is so united as a country. I love it and I don't want to leave it.

I finally visited the church that is right down the street from me last week. I walked in and was totally amazed because it was beautiful - it doesn't look beautiful on the outside, so that's why I was so shocked. I sat down and prayed for about an hour, and then I looked around the Church and read the history of it... apparently in the 1500s, a priest (St. Ambroggia I believe) left the wine on the Altar overnight and when he went back in the morning to clean it off, the wine had turned into blood ... and this is considered to be a miracle, so they built a side chapel to the Altar and a marble Tabernacle where the blood is preserved. I am going to make this a routine every week (not that I have much more left) because I felt at such peace in there. I love being able to walk around any corner and walk into a Church to sit down and pray, knowing it is a Catholic church. I love how united the religion is here... like I have said before, it makes it so easy to believe and comprehend everything I have learned about my faith my whole life... and it makes it so much easier to practice and want to practice Catholicism (not that I never do or don't want to .. just a general observation). I love being able to say " Happy Easter" or to talk about Catholicism knowing that it is not going to offend the other person because they are also Catholic. I just love it. I love everything about this place and just don't want to leave it :(