Mile Long Update

Okay, warning: this is going to be a very, super, extremely long post…just so you know! To start off, Wednesday and Thursday were very chill. Nothing really happened. All I did was go to my Italian class on Wednesday and my wine class on Thursday since cooking was canceled and the winery field trip was canceled. Nothing too exciting. BUT in wine class we tasted this really expensive sweet wine and it was absolutely delicious! It was my favorite wine ever! It tasted like straight up juice. It was great. I will look up the name for you later cause I can’t remember the name off the top of my head.  Then on Thursday night I skyped my mom for about an hour and a half and it was really nice to talk with her! I also found out that my brother gets to come visit me in April and I am absolutely ecstatic about it!! It is gonna be so awesome!! I can’t wait! Haven’t figured out the details yet, but that will come later on!! Yay!!......Now it’s about to get long…

Friday:

We finally got to go to Viterbo!!!! Yay!! We left at 8:30AM and arrived at around 9 or 9:15 ish. Viterbo is so pretty! (of course, just like every other place here!!) and it was really nice to finally see something other than our tiny tiny town! The first thing you see is the mall!....yes, mall! It was called Iper Coop. We couldn’t go in it right away cause we were really there for a tour of the town basically. So Massimo (one of our advisors) took us around town. We did a walking tour and I thought it was only gonna last maybe 2 or 3 hours……nope…..it was more like 6 or 7 hours…and I was wearing my boots that have a 1-1.5 inch heel (i know its not that much but after hours and hours it felt huge!). My feet were definitely hurting by the end of the trip. We went to the center of the town and went into 3 different churches and all of them were absolutely beautiful! It blows my mind to think of how old these churches are and to think of how they were able to build such intricate buildings with towers and sculptures and just so much detail! You can look at one building for an hour and still not notice everything about it. It was so fascinating to look at. Viterbo is very colorful too. Again, lots of shades of yellows and peaches and oranges.  This town is slightly more modern than Tuscania but is still very old and traditional. 

They had high end shops and electronic stores, even a Game Stop! It is interesting to see which brands are “big enough” to stay in their English name and which ones are translated. Like, Disney and McDonalds and Vans and Barbie are all in English but other brands are translated into English but still have the same logo. There was a McDonalds in Viterbo but we couldn’t find it in the time that we were there. Massimo let us have an hour break to do what we wanted so we went shopping a little bit and grabbed some pizza. We saw a random guy dancing in the street and we stopped for some yummy pastries! I got a giant croissant with whipped cream in it and it was so good! It was like eating a happy rainbow! No joke! Fabulous!! Then he took us around walking some more and then he was gonna take us to a local museum but he said we had to rush there and it closed in like 30 minutes so we just asked if we could go to Iper Coop instead and he said yes, but it was a 30 minute walk. At that point we didn’t care we just wanted to see a mall! When we got there we had about an hour before we had to catch the bus so we got to roam around by ourselves. It looked just like the malls at home, but with Italian names! The Italian “wal-mart” was inside of it too which was cool to walk around also. We also saw a street performer and oh my gosh, it was hilarious! He was an older man and he was just dancing in the middle of the street! It was so funny to watch haha. Then it was time to go back to Tuscania and when we did I had about 45 minutes to spare so we went to the park and my friend Francine brought her guitar and played and sang songs.

 She is an amazing singer! I can’t wait til she comes out with her first album and I can tell everyone that I am friends with her when she is famous! She really is amazing! Then I went to the volleyball game with Abby and Carly. It was the pro game and the guys that we know from Duomo were playing. There really are good too, I was skeptical cause I thought they were just saying they were really good cause it was “bar talk” but no, they really are good. I was pleasantly surprised! It was a lot of fun and only about a mile walk to get there.

 After the game I was finally able to go home! It was an exhausting day!! We did so much walking, I was getting blisters on my feet and I was so achey that night! BUT of course we had to go to Duomo that night! We all got dressed and we were so excited to go out cause our roommate Sara went out with us finally! Since there was no more snow she decided it was warm enough to go with us! Yay!! So we all went out and Duomo was kind of dead that night. It was mostly the Americans which was fine, it was still a blast! My friend Flowers made a CD and gave it to the bartender Alessio to put on and he did just for us! It was hilarious to watch him dance to the American music! It was so much fun!! We got back around 3AM. While we were on the bus to Viterbo we also decided that we would go to Pisa on Saturday as a last minute decision, so we did!

Saturday:

So, we had to wake up by 7AM to meet for the bus to Tarquinia at 8AM. It was a rough morning. Let’s just say that when we woke up we could still feel the…effects…of last night at Duomo. Hadn’t completely worn off yet, but we were not gonna let that stop us! So we hopped on a bus to the town of Tarquinia to catch a train at 11:30AM to Pisa. All together there were 6 of us that went. It was me, Caroline, Carly, Abby, Cameron, and Matt. When we got to Tarquinia we stopped for cappuccinos and pizza (breakfast of champions) which were absolutely delicious, then just found a nice sunny area to chill out in until it was time to catch the train. The train ride was 3 hours long and we got to Pisa around 2:30ish. Pisa is an awesome city! When we got there we went straight to the hostel we wanted to stay at because we heard it was a special hostel for teens and college students and we didn’t book the rooms ahead of time, so we wanted to make sure we got a room to stay in. When we found it we were all amazed! It was so brightly colored with neon colors with black accents and looked like a lot of fun. 

We had to get split up, so Caroline and I were together, Cameron and Matt, and Carly and Abby got a room together with another random French guy haha. It was kinda funny. Anyway, we dropped out stuff off and asked the front desk how to get to the leaning tower and cheap places to eat and we were off! We started to walk around and it smelled like moldy butt right around our hostel. It was pretty gross, but as we kept walking the smell went away, thank goodness! We grabbed some pizza….again haha, but this pizza was sooooooooooo amazing! It was round like we are used to in America and it was soft and the crust was big and puffy and it had just the right amount of cheese and sauce and it was just, ugh, so good! It was only 4 Euro for the whole pizza so we just split it up so it was really cheap for all of us to eat! By this time we were all starting to feel better and getting out second wind! We went back to the hostel after pizza cause when we got there earlier it was too early to officially check-in so we did that and made out beds then finally ventured out to find the leaning tower of Pisa!! The lady at the desk at the hostel said it was about a 30 minute walk to the tower so we started to book it to make sure we could get good pictures before it got dark out. We walked through the heart of the town and it was gorgeous! It is so different from out tiny town of Tuscania.

 The streets were filled with people and there was so much noise and so much going on everywhere you looked. It was like going from a small town like Belleville to a big city like Chicago! It was great! There were so many stores and small restaurants to eat at outside and street vendors. Everyone is walking in a fast pace and it was just awesome! Both sides of the street were filled with buildings 3 or 4 stories high and filled with all sorts of energy! Then we are walking and all of a sudden we can see the top of the leaning tower!!! It’s like it just pops out of nowhere! We all got so excited to see it! We sounded like such tourists! It was such an incredible sight to see! The Leaning Tower of Pisa is definitely my favorite building and piece of architecture I have ever seen! It is so amazing and mind boggling! It leans about 2 mm more every year and the top of the tower is moved over 4 feet more than the bottom of it! It is so fascinating to learn about!

 It was also comforting to be there because as soon as you are in that area you see all types of tourists and it didn’t make me feel so out of place. It was so nice! Every now and then we would hear someone speak English and it would take a while to register at first cause we were like “oh, wait! I know what they said! I understood that!” It was funny. There were also lots of Asian tourist groups which are always fun to see haha. We wanted to go up in the tower but you have to book that in advanced and since our trip was a last minute decision we couldn’t do it, but at least we got to see it and take typical tourist leaning tower pictures! We had to take pictures where we are holding the tower up and on the other side where we are pushing it over! It was awesome. The leaning tower is just so cool to look at, it almost looks fake! It’s like looking at a picture cause you just cant believe that it can actually exist, this tower that you’ve seen in so many movies and so many pictures, it just blows your mind! Then the Cathedral and Dome right next to it are equally amazing! We were able to go inside the Cathedral and it was gorgeous in there! It was incredible too with how many tourists there are and how loud it is outside that as soon as you step inside, no matter what language you speak, everyone knows to be respectful and not be loud and not talk. It was amazing. It was like something comes over you in there and you just feel so calm and at peace. It was beautiful! The dome was also amazing, but we could not go in cause they were closing, but by this time the sun was going down and there were so many clouds in the sky and it was the perfect background setting for the tower and dome and Cathedral. I still can’t get over how amazing and beautiful it was there.  It baffles my mind.

Of course we all had to by touristy souveniers too! I bought a post card, a shot glass (that was leaning!! Haha), and a magnet all for only 5 euro! I was pretty excited for that! Then we decided to walk back to the hostel rather than take a bus cause we wanted to see the town of Pisa at night and it was so amazing….of course! They had icicle lights hanging between the buildings and all the stores were lit up and people selling roses to couples all over. It was so pretty to look at! We were all absolutely exhausted by then so we decided that we would take a little nap before going out for dinner and drinks afterwards. As we were walking back we noticed a McDonalds and we just had to stop to get French fries! It was so nice to finally see a McDonalds!

 It was really funny to see though too, like everything was slightly different looking and their slogan is something like “The taste of America” and had a bacon cheeseburger called the Chicago Burger haha. Great, now all of Italy thinks that is what every American eats all the time! Haha oh well, we didn’t care we just wanted fries! They were heavenly tasting! I love them! I got a medium which is like a small in America and their large is our medium. It was weird but I didn’t care as long as I got some! It was delicious! But since I hadn’t had processed food like that in over a month, I could feel it tearing my stomach apart as soon as I ate my first fry, but it was totally worth it!! Then we walked back to the hostel to take a little nap before going out later. Then…..that awkward moment when the hostel is way more comfortable than your apartment…yeah. The bed was so comfy and they had the heater one, ugh, it was great! Then we went out to eat at a place that is known for their pasta. I just got penne pomodoro. It was delicious! Then we walked around but none of us really felt like experiencing the night life there since we were so extremely exhausted from walking around all day so we just went back to the hostel for bed time!

Sunday:

We woke up at 7AM to catch our train at 7:45 and we were back home by 11ish.  At about 2:30 in the afternoon I had to leave to be in the Carnevale parade!!

 It was so awesome! It was really cool to see the float that we helped build all finished up! Originally we were gonna dress in red, green, and white colors and be on the other float, but it was easier to dress as farmers to be on the float we helped build. It was a lot of fun! It was me, Meesh, Amy, Allie, and Kelsie and then a bunch of little kids and their parents on the float with us. We threw confetti to the crowds and it was great seeing our friends, both American and locals, while we were riding on the float. Once the float parade was done, they threw like a huge party in the center of town. Everyone was dressed up in costumes and they had Carnevale treats. It was a blast! Everyone was there! There were people dressed as cowgirls, devils, angels, cows, movie characters, it was like Halloween all over again! Bright colors everywhere and elaborate masks, everywhere you looked it was like a fairytale! It was beautiful to look around! It was so much fun! My feet and legs were absolutely killing me though!! I was starting to feel exhausted! I had done nothing but walk and stand all weekend and I have about 8 blisters on my feet and shin splints! It was totally worth it though!!

So basically, to sum up my weekend I went to Viterbo, came back, went to volleyball game, went out, Went to Tarquinia, went to Pisa, went to Tarquinia again, came back, rode on a float in a parade, celebrated Carnevale, then finally slept. I’d say it was very successful!

Monday:

Ugh! Monday! I hate Mondays! So I woke up and I was definitely sick. I could feel it coming on, on Sunday morning but thought it was just cause I was tired, nope! I am actually sick. My head felt about 10 times its normal size, my nose was clogged, my throat hurt, my voice was going away, and to top it all off, I had a fever! Greeeaaaat, I am sick in Italy! Just what I wanted!! If I were at home I would have skipped classes, but since I am here and we are only allowed 2 absences no matter what, I decided I needed to go to them. My first 2 were okay, nothing too special or difficult, but then I had my cinema class…dun dun dun! I got my essay back and of course, I got a C+….she must hate me!! I did a pretty good job on the essay and I think it deserved a grade much better than a C+ but whatever. So I was pretty upset about that and then we had our first quiz in that class which I was absolutely terrified for!! I studied really hard for it especially since it was only 7 questions and all short answer and usually that is good for me, but this teach is out to get me so I was worried. When we got to class and got the quiz I felt pretty good about it. It was not as terrible as I was expecting but everytime I think I do good on a quiz I usually end up doing bad so lets hope that is not the case this time! Fingers crossed!!! So the cinema class was not helping me feel any better and when I got home my roommates literally yelled at me and told me to go lay down in my bed and I was not allowed to leave cause they refuse to get sick! I thought they were kidding but no, they were totally serious! They even offered to make me my food and bring it to me, they really didn’t want me to contaminate the house. It was kind of a bummer cause I like to be around them when we are all at home and I felt like I was missing out when I would hear them laughing in the kitchen. I was feeling really terrible though so I guess it was good I stayed in bed.

There were a few good things that happened on Monday though! I got a 25/30 on my Italian quiz…yay! Also, we have to go to the immigration office cause a law recently changed here and we have to go there for some documentation stuff and we were supposed to go on Tuesday morning at 7AM…so I would have had to wake up at like 5:30 to be there on time, but my appointment got changed to Wednesday at 8AM instead! Thank goodness!! Tuesday is my day off and I was definitely looking forward to sleeping in especially since I am sick! Then my moms package and 2 valentines day letters came!!!!! I was so happy and excited you have no idea!! I had to pay 25 euro to get my package though cause of some tax but it was totally worth it! She sent me my stuffed animal (TA), my Boy Meets World DVDs, shampoo/conditioner, and then she surprised me with a t-shirt, Justin Bieber valentines, and a new Justin Bieber toothbrush cause my other one broke!! My mom send the most perfect packages ever!! I started to cry when I got it cause she sent a card in it that was hilarious and cause I was so happy I got the package and cause I was stressed about my cinema quiz and cause I wasn’t feeling well, I was so emotional. I was being such a girl on Monday! Haha I was just so relieved to get the package and to have my stupid stuffed animal!!! Ugh, everything is so much better after getting that, so thank you mama!! Wuvoo!

Tuesday:

So much for sleeping in. I was feeling so terrible sick that I woke up at around 8:30AM. I felt horrible. I decided I needed to go out and buy juice and medicine. So IO had one of the advisors write down on a sheet of paper what I needed to buy and she told me to just hand it to a phamacist and they will take car of it so that is exactly what I did. The pharmacist gave me some cold tablets that dissolve in water, sorta like airborne, and gave me some throat spray. I took them immediately! Then I decided I would just lay in bed all day and watch my Boy Meets World. I took a little nap and started to feel better. The medicine is already starting to work its magic! It is wonderful! I was able to take a nap and still breathe through my nose which seemed like a miracle at the time. It was wonderful!

Since I was feeling better and it was the last night of Carnevale, I decided I would go out with everyone. Café Del Duomo was having a Carnevale costume party so we all went there.

 We all had masks on and everyone else there was dressed up like it was Halloween. Halloween is my favorite holiday so it was so awesome to me! All of the bartenders were dressed as smurfs! It was hilarious! Alessio was papa smurf and he actually looked kinda creepy haha. Then there was this group of people that wore all white masks and looked really scary, like I couldn’t even look at them cause they were slightly terrifying! One girl was dressed as the black swan, there were lots of nerds, and some were the blues brothers. It was so cool to see everyone dressed up! Duomo cleared all the tables out of the bar and made it into a dance floor. It was so much fun to dance around and act silly! We did not stay out long though since we had to get up early for immigration tomorrow and I was sick still. Also my roommate Jenny got sick too. She was really mad about it. She almost didn’t come out either but she figured she would regret not going out on the last night of Carnevale in friggin Italy, so she came out for a little while too. It was a good time. We were home before midnight and I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow cause I was so exhausted! It was a good day though..

Wednesday:

Yay for immigration. Ugh. Okay actually, it was not that bad. We didn’t have to ride the bus to Viterbo since there was only 8 of us and were able to fit in the van so that was kind of nice. Then we got the immigration office and they took 2 pictures of us and took our finger prints. Then we went to the police station for more finger prints. The guy doing the prints was very aggressive and looked a lot like Tarzan and Fabio haha it was funny. At first when he grabbed me I wasn’t sure what he was doing so my body stiffed up I guess and he took my arm and shook it and smiled at me and was like “what wrong? Relaaaaaaax” haha it was so funny! Anyway, after about a million finger prints we were all done, and we were done early so we asked Massimo and Francesco to take us to McDonalds. Oh wow, I got a burger there, and oh wow, I was craving one so bad, and oh, wow, it was declicious! I love eating something when you’ve been craving it cause it just tastes heavenly! Loved it! Their sizes are so much smaller here, but it was fine cause I was so full after  having it! Then Massimo took us back in his cute little red car. He is so funny. He was crackin jokes all day with us!

When we got back I definitely took a long nap. I think it was about 4 hours long. Yup, 4 hours, but I needed it and it felt amazing! Don’t know how I am gonna get to sleep tonight but at this point I don’t care! Then since last week my cooking class was canceled, we did that lesson today which was fresh pasta!! It was awesome! I always wanted to know how to make pasta! It was really easy and simple too, I was surprised! And mom, I can make gluten free kind just for you cause I asked him about it tonight! Yay me! So I was working with Sara and Francine to make spaghetti and then there were 3 other groups.

 We made 4 or 5 different dishes and I ate 2 of them! And they were both delicious!! We also made 3 different sauces and a giant cheese dish that looked like a casserole! It was a great cooking class!

 Next week we have the seafood unit and our first quiz, so that’s not gonna be fun for me. We are having it on Monday night to make up for missing last week. Monday is gonna be a long day for me. Italian from 9-10:40, Sketching from 11-1:30, Cinema from 3-5:30, then cooking from 6-8:30. Yup, long day! Oh well, I will just rest up this weekend then!!

So there is my super long update. Again sorry it took a while but I didn’t have my computer all weekend and then I got really sick and was tired all the time and couldn’t do it! Congrats to you if you read this whole thing haha, personally I would have just looked at the pictures and skipped the novel I wrote! Anyways, I am feeling a little better. I can sort of breathe through my nose now. My legs are still super achey from all the millions of miles I walked this weekend/week, and my blisters are starting to bruise….whoopee! Oh, and I forgot to mention that on Monday night I sliced open my thumb when I was chopping my potatoes. It went through my nail and everything. So I have some lovely bruises and cuts and scars now from this weekend. My roommate Jenny was in Florence all weekend and said it was amazing, so I cant wait to go there!! Then this weekend her friend is coming here to stay with us. It should be a lot of fun! But anyway, I will stop talking so that your eyes can take a break from reading. I will not let this much time go between updates next time I promise!!

Until next time……ciao!