Day 8: Free Day

So we could do pretty much anything we wanted with this day. The girls and I decided to stick close to the hostel and explore the area there since we had seen everything we wanted to see in bolognas city center. We went to a strip mall in the morning and looked around. We went into this one shoe store that had literally the most shoes i have ever seen in my life. Seriously. We hung out basically, went to the grocery store and got some fruit to give our body some good nutrients. :-) we really just hung out and rested our bodies. So then we came back to our hostel and took a nap. We were so tired from all the activities we have been doing we crashed. After we woke up, we decided we were going to get dressed up and go out for dinner. So we got some other ppl from our group together and went out. We went to this delicious restaurant in the center of Bologna called Restaurante Donatello. We had the best waiter and had so much fun trying each others food and talking and laughing. And just for my mom, we took a picture with our waiter outside the restaurant afterwards. Later we went down the street to a bar called Swine Bar to have a drink before we caught one of the buses back to our hostel. We met these Italian boys who bought us a bottle of wine and a rose for my friend Jen. One of the boys serened my friend Jen and i recorded the song on my camera. It was really good even if we didn't know what he was saying, he still had a great voice. When we got back we went to bed because we had to get up way early the next morning to leave Bologna for Genoa.....

Day 9: Genoa

Ciao!!! We arrived in Genoa after a near 3 hour bus ride. It was nice to see the beauty that is the city, especially after being cooped up in a car all day. The scenery coming into the city was amazing and more beautiful than I could ever had imagined. We checked into our hostel which overlooks the EnTIRE city and has breathtaking views of the sea. So much so that it's impossible to know where the sea ends and sky begins.
We headed down to the city center and had some lunch at a pizzeria. I had a sandwich that is seriously my most favorite thing ever. I could eat it everyday for lunch and not get sick of it. After lunch we began our tour of Genoa. One of the most interesting things about this city is that when it was built, it was constructed so if enemies came in, they would be unable to know where every palace/important building was. Thus, the important buildings are all scattered throughout the city and blended in with other tall buildings that served as houses for other people. Very cool and creative and strategic. I'm actually surprised more cities didn't think to do that with their cities....it does make a lot of sense.
We saw a lot of the surroundings and walked by the sea for a bit too. One thing that really surprised me was the prevalence of prostitutes in the city. The women are always in certain parts of the city down allies waiting for someone to call upon them. We saw some around 6pm. It was very crazy. We went to eat dinner and had some great cheesy pizza and ravioli with red sauce. The food just kept on coming out, I didn't know what to do with it all but obviously eat it. :-). After we went to the train station to check out times for our trips this week and then we headed back up the hill to our hostel, where I write from now. I was actually kinda disappointed with Genoa mainly because it was a very dirty city with a lot of strange people living in it. Oh well, tomorrow most of the people in our group are going to a beach called Arenzano which is only 30 minute train ride there. Supposed to be nice weather so we should have a good time. :-)

Ciao!

Days 5 & 6: Bologna/Parma

So we left Venice on Sunday afternoon and made it to Bologna in pretty good time...better than I expected. However while we worked to find our hostel we got lost. I thought mapquest or google maps worked here in Italy, but maybe our bus driver is stubborn and doesn't like to use them. So he got very angry and upset that he couldn't find our hostel. When we finally did, he didn't say anything to us, not like he ever did anyways. We got checked in to our hostel, which also has Internet, as you can tell...it's very nice and clean. We get our own rooms with doors, which we didn't get in Venice. The breakfast is kinda crappy but whatever we can skip it if it's that awful. So we got on the bus to go to the train station. We got to the train station right before our train left....5 minutes before. So we ran to the platform and made it on with time to spare..who would have known that would be a predicor of our day? We made it to Parma and I was very pleased with the city because it was different than the others that we have seen thus far. We didn't have a tour but Tammy did a grand job of taking us around to different places and seeing things before we split for the rest of the morning to explore for ourselves. There really wasn't much history in Parma that we could see, though there some really nice things to stare at. I got a nice pair of jeans here in a cute shop. It was very interesting to see many if the shops closed from 12-3:30 every day. And around that time we started seeing a lot of schoolage children walking around and getting on the bus. It's interesting to think that so many cultures take those hours of their day to relax and I imagine spend time with their families. We made it back to Bologna by 330 and we split up right away to look at what we wanted. Again, we didn't see very much because there were no maps and everyone we talked to gave us poor directions. It was frustrating but we enjoyed the sun by walking down the main streets stopping in shops and observing people. We stopped for some gelato in the midafternoon and enjoyed the nice weather some more. We met up for dinner at 7 and we ate at this great place called Victoria. I had bolognese cheese tortellini. We had authentic bolognese food as well as vino from the region which was to die for. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the name of the wine because we had to be at the bus stop at 844. We found this out at 830. So we, yea 15 crazy Americans, ran through the city center of Bologna to make it to our busstop so we could get to the stop before the last regular bus. Needless to say, one major spill by one of the girls, on slippery marble floors, later we made it to the stop on time. For the wrong bus. Haha. It was fine though because we were able to run off some of our dinner and then have room for some dessert. At dessert we met some Italian men who spoke English well. It was fun to talk with them, and have them giggle like little girls around us.
One major observation i have made here is that the Italian men are not afraid to say things to strangers. Nearly everyday we walk around cities the girls I walk around with get called 'guapa' 'bella' or get blown kisses and continous staring all the way down the street. We have decided to use this to our advantage when it comes to food and drinks from now on. But dont worry mom. We will be very safe. :-)
We finally made it home and after a long day with nearly 4 hours of non walking traveling we were beat. Nearly all of us came home and went right to bed. The next morning came all to quickly.....

Day 7: FLORENCE!!!

I must say I am most excited about Florence than I have been about any city. Perhaps it's because i did research on the city for our project, but I feel like I will really enjoy this city.
Our train this morning left at 823 and we needed to catch the bus at 609 from the stop by our hostel. However after an extremely long and productive day yesterday the ladies in our room did not hear any of the THREE alarms we set in our room. Oops. Oh well we are women and we were ready to go at 600. Yup we pretty much rock. We got to the bus stop early, got on the bus, made the change, and made it to the train station nearly an hour and a half early. We ate a small pasteria/cafe since we missed our gross breakfast at the hostel. We got on the train and made it to Florence in 30 minutes. Quickest commute this trip. And it probably will be. We are finally in Florence and waitin for more information for our Hop on hop off bus tour of Florence. Write more later..............

We just got off the first tour bus of Florence and I must sy, this is by far the most amazing sights EVER. We saw many sights that some of us are going to stop at later this afternoon. A guy from bologna told us that florence is a lot like Verona which I really liked a lot so this city amazing.
We got on a hop on hop off tour bus to see the city. and see the city we did. We had a total blast sitting on top of the bus in the sun relaxing having fun while taking pictures of beautiful things around the city. We went on two different busrides. The second went to Fiorense which is like an affluent suburb of the city with beautiful houses and hills. If I could a) afford to move to Italy and b) still be able to eat I would totally absolutely move to Florence. There is history with a big city feel. And I love it.
Later in the afternoon our group got separated. So instead of eating as a group, we ate as a separate group, though I think we got a better deal than the others. We ate by the Duomo for a pretty cheap price and we were able to barter the price down pretty well. After we were done eating, I absolutely had to get to a pay phone to call Andrew. Today is his birthday and I felt awful for missing it, though I know/hope he will enjoy the gifts I bring back for him. We went to Santa Croce which is where Galileo and Michelangelo are buried, along with many other ppl. That was very enjoyable and amazing and breathtaking to see up close. Afterwards we navigated ourselves (I was the leader aka the only person with a map) to get us to the art academy before our tour began. We made it right on time and got in asap. We saw many pieces of art like 'the rape of the Sabine women' and of course the 'David' by Michelangelo. It was so massive I didn't even know what to think or say. I was in awe of the size. I figured it would be big, but not as big as it was. Either way the precision of the art was amazing. I can only imagine how long it took him to create it. One of the things this trip has inspired me to do is read more about the things I've seen or experienced. Can't wait to see what the libraries in dbq have to offer me.... We made our way back and eventually got on the train and made it back to our hostel. The girls in my room are dead tired and are now thinking of what we are going to do with our free day in italy.
What a major problem eh?

Days 3 & 4: Venice

We arrived in Venice on Friday morning and immediately we had issues. As we attempted to get all 15 people PLUS all our luggage onto an already overcrowded boat taxi. Unfortunately I learned this day that Italian culture lacks order and lines. In fact they are horrible at it. As they started loading the boat we started getting on one by one dragging our luggage behind us. 4 of our group got on the boat when suddenly the driver started pulling away which means the gate needs to be closed, this we learned quickly. So as the boat taxi drove off with only four of our 15, we all realized the pol on the boat don't care about how many ppl we have in our group. So luckily the rest of us got on the next boat and were on the lookout for our stop. One of the girls that got separated from the rest of the group had a cell phone that works in Europe. she called Tammy (our professor) and told us that they got off in the stop and that we would see them shortly. We did see them shortly...when we were on our way PAST the stop they got off. We all yelled and waved them to get on the boat. Only 2 did. long story short, we finally made it to our hostel and were reunited once again. Our hostel I'd literally on the sea. The 3 girls in my room and I get to wake up to domes across the way. It's amazing. Yesterday we got to explore the city. 2 other girls and myself walked around the city looking at anything and everything. We really had no mission or itenerary except to see and walk whereever which is what we did. We came across a lot of wonderful things along our way many of which we didn't know but were still having tons of fun looking at the things.
Later that night we went to a restaurant and I had cheese tortellini with some creamy white sauce. It was delicious and exactly what I have wanted to eat in Italy since I LOVE tortellini. Then a few girls and I went for a walk to check out the island our hostel I on. There wasn't much on the island by the shore which was the only place we felt comfortable walking at night. When we got back our group hung out with each other and met a few ppl from Canada. The guys were really cool and we talked about some things and traded stories.
This morning we slept in. It felt amazing even though I am still very tired. Oh well no complaints. After all I'm in Italy! We woke up and got on the water taxi and rode until we felt like getting off. We got off at a stop called Giardini and we saw this great park that was full of green. It was amazing to finally see some green space. Plus this area of the city had very few tourists so we were able to see a joy of the natives walking around. Later in the day we found some great bakery/coffee shop with great chocolate cream puffs. Yum. We are getting some more tomorrow. Later we went to the island of Murano which is really far out. On this island they do glass blowing. And we saw it happen! It was amazing. It's such a talent these ppl have and the products they create. We wandered around the town in and out of shops and galleries. The art that was in the city squares was extravagant. It just blew my mind. The ride out and back was rough since the waves were really choppy because the weather was crappy. It was rainy and cold nearly every moment of the day. I didn't see the sun at all today which made for a long chilly day. But once again, I'm in Italy so I'll try not to complain. :-)
Later today we went on a hunt to find the last structure I wanted to see. We had absolutely no idea what the name of it was, but we were bound and determined to find it. We got lost in Venice for about an hour and a half and eventually discovered a way to get to the building. When we got there we found out what the name was: Campo del Salute. It was great and beautiful and so large. I'm glad i was able to make it to the building and get some photos up close.
Tonight we went for dinner and I had spaghetti and it was amazing. Now I'm gettin ready for bed and gathering all my things. We are checking out of the hostel at 9 tomorrow morning and leaving for the mainland t 1. We get on our bus at 3 to start going to Bologna. Hope the meat there is better than the Oscar Meyer stuff in the states. I never really like it all that much. Oh well. Peace and love to everyone.
Ciao!!!!!

So here's the story of my life....

So the reason all the postings happened to occur at the same time is due to the lack of wireless connection. So enjoy what you can and hopefully there will be more internet access for moi in the future. :-)

City 1: Verona

So we made it to our first city on the trip. Verona, which is the home of Juliet from the book. We went to the city which was absolutely beautiful. We went up a hill and were able to look over the entire city. It really was the most beautiful thing ever. Then later we went to the centre of the city and began our way to the shops....surprise surprise huh? Well we found some great stores and we really discovered that our English doesn't mean anything here. Today I called mama when she was getting ready for school and I think she was excited to talk to me. At least she made it sound like that.... After we ate some lunch, which was ok in my opinion, we had a tour of the city scheduled. It was wonderful to hve a tour guide even though our large group screamed tourists so we had stares from lots of ppl, though not as many stres as we get in Montagnana which is a much smaller town. Anyways, we saw some pretty amazing stuff...including the arena, which is actually older than the Roman Collesium, but much smaller. We ended up at Juliet's house and our tour was over then. Many people leave love letters for Juliet though I don't quite understand why, but I did it anyways. We concluded our day with some time to shop and walk around the city, which is what we did. :-) We got on the bus and nearly everyone on the bus fell right asleep. So mug excitement everyday. You can't expect us to NOT need naps. Ciao!!

Day 2: Mantova

Everyday I'm here and every city I'm ibis amazing. I'm in awe of the culture and I enjoy each city more than the last.
So as I write right now I'm on a bus, like every morning, except today we are moving to VENICE! I'm very excited but a little bit anxious due to the fact that we will have to be more aware of how we are getting to and from our hostel than we were in Montagnana.
Anyways, Mantova. Ah Mantova. When we arrived it was raining, which really ia beginning to be a partvof our everyday life here. random rain showers which drop the temperature and give us all chills. We headed to a coffee shop and had some amazing cappachino which tasted nothing like the stuff that is in the US. This was not powder that was turned into a drink, it was actual chocolate and coffee. Yum. The woman in charge of our hostel came with us because she used to live in the city before she got married. So she knew a lot of what was going on and she was actually our tour guide that day. But first we had time to walk around and shop at the farmers market type of market that was going on. When we heard there was a market many of us thought it was going to be a farmers market that we have in the US with food and crafts. and that was not what we found. There was jewelry and clothing and fabric and beads and nearly everything we needed, and at a great price that you could barter for. It was wonderful.... Indeed.
When our hour of browsing came to a close, it was time to venture through the city to the Palazzo Te. This was quite the jaunt but it was totally worth it. When we finally arrived it was time for our bike rode, so we needed to run and get our bikes. We walked down to the bike shop and all the females (13 of 15) got light blue bikes with cute baskets on the front, like in The Wizard of Oz. We started on our bike journey which was full of minor crises left and right made me laugh and continues to bring a smile to my face because I can only imagine what we looked like to the Italians. Imagine it: 15 people with cameras out and old bikes traveling in a straight line. I felt like I was in the Von Trapp family. It really was amazing because the three lakes ofthe city are a bit flooded and we tried to find ways to go around all the lakes but many of the trails were nonexistent due to the water so we made it up as we went along, which included asking more than one native nonEnglish speaker for directions and riding on the incredibly narrow sidewalks that were very skillful and fast italian. Needless to say it was an interesting excursion but it was definitely a bonding experience for all of us.
When we were done with the bike ride we went for a boat ride. The ride was through part of the shallow part of one of the lakes. We were able to see Mantova from the water. It was beautiful. We were all so tired from our bike excursion that the only time we were super excited was when we saw wildlife. We saw ducks and swans and red herrins. It was fun but by the end of the day we were so tired. When we got on the bus, within 10 minutes of leaving the bus stop the entire bus was asleep. Except the driver of course. Tomorrow we are going to Venice and I am very excited to see the boats and rivers and all the amazing buildings and people. Wish me luck!!!!

Destination: italy!!!

That's right! As I write this, I am sitting on a Boeing 767. My first experience on one, and so far it is amazing. I am sitting behind the wings and I was able to see the lights of the Big Apple when we took off......3 hours late.
It was too good to be true. No way we could get out of the country without having a problem. Our plane, whichbwas supposed to be in NYC at 540 (eastern) did not show until 715, and we didnot take off until around 8 or so. However we made it. Right now we are flying up the eastern seaboard and are then going to go up and over Greenland and the alps doe k the volcanic ash, which I thought had cleared (thanks for the heads up Mama). So maybe I'll be able to see the alps....how cool would that be?!
On the flight we get to watch movies for free. Right mow it's some fox movie that has george clooney's wonderful voice. I think next is Marley and me I think. We are also going to be eating our dinner soon. Which is good because I am absolutely starving for food that is NOT airport terminal mcdonald or salty snacky foods. It smells delicious and my stomach is definitely making itself known to me.. it just will not shut up.
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so I just got done eating and it sure was delicious. Chicken and pasta...can't get much better than that. :-) so here are some of the thoughts I have about the Italians. 1. There is a woman sitting across the aisle to my left from me and she looks a lot like my dearest auntie Paula...so obviously being the person I am... I stared for awhile.....when she was sleeping so it was a little less creepy and awkward. So i'm wondering If there might be some Italiano en la Sangre de Avelleyra..... Quien sabe? Not me. But I will continue to observe to see if there are more qualities that I see in the Avelleyra family. It will be interesting. 2. I absolutely love the languge. It is one that I have not yet heard in the US so I'm very excited to hear more and try to negotiate meaning and communicate with the native Italians. Sooooo exciting!!!! 3. They are VERY beautiful people. My class is the only group of Americans on the plane(I think) and I'd have to say our plane is very attractive. Even the older generations are adorable with their little knowledge of English and high pitched voices that sound like they are yelling, though I'm sure they are not. :-)

Finally, before I go to familarize myself with a few Italian phrases and then try to get some sleep, I just wanted to let everyone reading that I am sincerely going to try to update this darn thing daily so you can all share in the fun and enjoyment that is Italy.

Ok I really need to go b/c even though my body thinks it's not quite time to sleep (930 central time as I write) it is approaching 430 in the am in Italia. I am going to have a grand awakening....

Buenas noches for most of you, buenos dias for me!

Ciao... Love you all!!!

Preparations for the hop across the pond

So.... As I lay in bed on the first day of finals, which is ironically my last day of finals I lay and ponder if I will forget anything important. So if anyone who is reading this has ANY type of advice please feel free to share it with me. I will take any kind of advice. Seriously tho I will. Keep looking out for new posts especially throughout the month of May when I am travelling in Europe.
Tomorrow begins the effort to organize my life and get myself nearly ready to leave the country. Can't wait!

Ciao bellas,
Emily

- 48 hours

So, I am 48 hours from getting on a plane and beginning my trip of a lifetime to Italy! I am beyond excited.. .so excited I am doing this instead of packing. :-) I have half of my luggage packed, though I would just hate to take too much to Italy, so I can buy lots of goodies over there! I don't really have much to say, other than I hope to blog as much as possible, so keep checking back throughout May so I can share my wonderful adventures with all of you! I hope you all enjoy your month and I will be thinking of you all!

Ciao,
Emily