"YOBO: You Only Bologna Once"

My Saturday started off early with 8 other kids from CAPA and a 40 minute high-speed train ride from Florence to Bologna, which is in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. We stepped off the train with no map, no directions, and no itinerary; it was somewhat daunting, but after asking for directions in Italian (about 4 times, I might add) we finally reached what seemed like the center of the city. We stopped for a coffee and pastry at a bar called Frollia Caffé, which was probably the best decision of the entire day. My hot chocolate was good, and my pastry was even better... but the best part was practicing Italian with the nice Bolognese barista. We asked him where we should eat lunch and he very kindly and smartly recommended a very local osteria close to his bar. 

We headed off in search of some interesting buildings or the University of Bologna. For those of you who don't know- the University of Bologna was founded in 1088 making it the oldest university in the world! Instead of finding the university, we came up to the two towers of Bologna. Built in the 12th century, these towers were initially used for defense by the wealthiest families, but are now a symbol of the city. Luckily, the tallest of the towers (the Asinelli Tower) is open to visitors on Saturdays so I mustered up some courage and somehow climbed the 97m to the top! The view was amazing especially because the day was absolutely gorgeous.

Garisenda and Asinelli Towers

View of Piazza Maggiore from the top of the tower

As we headed over to Piazza Maggiore, we stopped and listened (along with a huge group of Bolognese) to a fantastic band playing the Star Wars theme song and "Imperial March." We finally came upon La Fontana del Nettuno, the San Petronio Basilica, and... a group of actors dressed in old-time garb! When they saw Julia and I not-so-sneakily snap a few pictures, one of them came up to us and told us to pose for pictures! It turned into a huge photoshoot... especially after I asked for a sword and one guy graciously ran into the Palazzo d'Accursio and snagged one for me! Turns out they were about to film a scene about La Festa della Porchetta (translated to: feast of the pork) in which pork would be thrown off the balcony of Palazzo d'Accursio while the people were celebrating St. Bartholomew.

Oh, just about to get my head chopped off... va bene!

Around this time, we decided to make the trek to Osteria Broccaindossas... in other words, heaven. This was the local place that our barista very expertly recommended; I say this because it was amazingly authentic Bolognese food! We entered the small restaurant and were seated in a back room; there were no menus so at the suggestion of our waiter, we decided to just get a bunch of antipasti for the entire table. We had no idea what they were bringing us, but we were hungry and decided we couldn't really go wrong in Bologna! The meal started off with a perfectly fresh mixed-greens and orange salad, followed by mortadella (which is like bologna but about 289473920 times better), and the most divine pecorino cheese with fig marmalade. At this point, I was perfectly content with the antipasti and was ready to order a primo piatto, but they kept bringing more food! And it only got better and better! They brought out sweet peppers, sausage and beans in a thick sauce, little torts of zucchini and eggplant with tomatoes, eggplant parmigiano, potatoes with cheese, polenta topped with bolognese sauce, and pumpkin flan swimming in a butter and cream sauce.  Even though the entire group was ready to loosen their belts, we were feeling gluttonous and decided to order lasagna with bolognese sauce and ravioli... Both were such mouth-watering dishes. The dessert: clementines and the richest brownies I've ever eaten! My words won't give justice to the delicious meal they served us because it was probably the best food I've ever eaten in my life. (Sorry mom, I love your food too!) It was very clear as to why many people consider Bologna a foodie's paradise!

We walked around Bologna some more and checked out a few churches, such as the San Petronio Basilica. In Piazza Maggiore, we also watched a group of breakdancers while sitting on the fountain! As our departure time neared, we headed to the train station but not before getting some gelato... everything about my life in Italy revolves around gelato!!

I can certainly say that my day trip to Bologna wasn't only a huge success, but a great day for bonding with friends over food and wine and practicing my Italian. It was really nice to get out of Florence and experience a whole different setting in Italy. The people of Bologna were all much more willing to humor me and speak Italian, whereas most Florentines always speak English.

On Saturday night, Catie, Lorenzo, Julia, and I went to a party hosted by a student at the CCF; it was very cool because everyone was from all around the world: Holland, South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Serbia, England, Russia, etc. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Michelangelo's David

Unfortunately, I really cannot remember what I did on Thursday... so it was probably a boring day! I had class for 6 hours with a short lunch break in between. I also went to a bar called Salamanca that night- pretty cool atmosphere, not enough dancing!

On Friday I took my first test in my Italian Language class and then headed to lunch and gelato with Tylar. We made a quick game-time decision and decided to check out Michelangelo's David in the Galleria dell'Accademia. Oh, you know, just casually strolling over to see one of the most widely recognized pieces of sculpture. Ain't no thang.

...Just kidding. It was absolutely incredible and I wasn't prepared for it in the least! After checking out a few paintings and wandering around lost, Tylar and I turned the corner, gasped, and stared for about a minute. At the end of a long corridor lined with unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo was the 17 ft, white marble, biblical figure known as David. We walked up to it in complete and utter shock, and honestly, I won't ever get over it. In my opinion the most striking feature were the veins and wrinkles in David's hands- everything was so realistic. Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed... but don't worry guys, I'll go back soon and be a sneaky photographer!

I had been feeling sick all day, so I went home to rest up for my trip to Bologna on Saturday!

Heart-shaped pizzas and future European trips

Okay guys, nothing important happened on Tuesday except that I ate a burger.  In my Italian taught "Understanding Modern Italy" class, I gave a short presentation on the linguistic disunity in a politically unified Italy and the eventual dissemination, teaching, and dialects of Tuscan Italian. As a linguistics and Italian double major, it was probably the most interesting topic I could have covered!

My Wednesday was much more eventful and definitely one of my favorite days here so far! After my class at the CCF, I went to lunch at Gusta Pizza (which in on the other side of the Arno river) with Catie and Julia. This is probably the closest I'll get to neopolitan pizza before going to Napoli! The guys who run it are from Naples, so it's definitely legit... buffalo mozzarella and everything. Not only was it the best pizza I've had in Italy so far, it was shaped like a heart... I was sold!

Margherita pizza and a beer for lunch... so italiano!

And in the usual flow of things in my life, lunch led to dessert, and in Italy, dessert means gelato. I ate at Perché No for the FOURTH time... I just can't get enough of their fiordilatte con amarene (blackberries and cream) flavor! I could eat there every day of my life and be perfectly content.

We then explored the city looking for vintage stores, but no luck! The 2 we did find were closed in the middle of the day, but I'm definitely going to be trying again soon. Hopefully I can snag some cool, vintage Italian threads.

I guess it doesn't really sound like a crazy exciting day, but I think it felt so great because the sun was finally shining almost all day long. I can already tell that once the weather changes, Florence will be even more of a blast! It was beautiful walking around without worrying about puddles and wet socks and umbrellas in my face, so I can't wait for more days like that.

In other news, I booked a train ticket to Bologna for this Saturday. It'll be a day trip to... FOODIE CENTRAL- butter and cream on everything. I'm all about it! Apart from the food, Professor Looney said that this weekend Bologna will be having a modern art festival and so it's a really good weekend to visit.

IN EVEN BIGGER NEWS, Tylar, Vips (her homestay friend), and I booked a flight to BRUSSELS... guys, waffles. WAFFLES. During that trip, I'm planning on hitting up Amsterdam too. I'm really excited to travel around Europe because it will definitely be a really fun time.

Squishy socks and Orsanmichele

The rain has been putting a damper on my experience... being uncomfortably wet and walking around the city with squishy socks (maybe rainboots would be helpful..?) is not fun at all! Which is why on Sunday, I woke up late (once I heard how badly it was raining in the morning), went out for quick lunch and gelato trip at the same panini and gelato places as the previous day (which shows how freaking delicious the food was!), and then headed straight back to my apartment. It was the laziest Sunday ever. (Except for the one Sunday after my birthday when Cara and I rode the struggle bus all day... but anyway.)

Monday's classes were... normal. Nothing too exciting, to be honest. The exciting part of my Monday happened after class. With a bit of exploration and after saying "maybe it'll be on the next street..." about 5 times, Tylar finally found this teeny little sandwich place (where she ate a 2 euro sandwich once!) near the Duomo and Piazza della Repubblica. We walked in and there was barely enough space for us to stand, so you can imagine my surprise when the owner asked us if we wanted to eat downstairs... yep, we went downstairs and walked into 2 TINY underground rooms with stone walls, super cool decorations, full of stylish Italians. I was already in love as we sat down, but as Tylar, Chris, and I were talking about the cool restaurant, one of the waiters looked at us incredulously and asked, "OH, you guys are English?!" GUYS, IT WAS A BITCHIN' MOMENT. I was super pumped. Anyway, the menu was in Italian- generally a good way to tell you are in a genuinely Italian place, not a touristy spot. I had polpette, which I THOUGHT were only meatballs... NOPE. The dish was balls of all kinds of things... I still don't know exactly WHAT I ate, but it was all delicious. Sidenote: the orange fanta here is made with REAL ORANGE JUICE, so it literally tastes like oranges with fizz, aka heaven. I'll never have orange soda at home again!

Polpette miste con le patate al forno

We ate lunch and scurried off to meet Dennis Looney, an incredibly knowledgeable professor from Pitt who is acting as an advisor in Florence, at the Orsanmichele church in between the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, and Piazza della Repubblica. Okay kids, get ready for an Italian monument history lesson. The Orsanmichele church was built in 1337 on the site that was once a monastery, but interestingly enough, it was not a church initially. For a very long time, it was used as an open grain market- farmers would go and show off their grains and make deals; they would pour their grain down chutes and show it to customers and other grain farmers. It slowly became a church because farmers would pray for good deals and prosperous crops!

Entrance to Orsanmichele.

On the exterior of the church there are 14 niches that hold different statues all paid for by different guilds that ruled Florence in the 14th century. These statues were somewhat revolutionary in the way the sculptors conveyed movement and a greater sense of realism; many of the statues seem to be coming out of their niches, and most seem pensive, as opposed to the stoic facial expressions of statues of the past. One of the statues that clearly shows a new way of sculpture is Donatello's St.George, which was paid for by the armourers guild. Other guilds that paid for statues were the shoemakers, bankers, silk merchants, etc. The copies of the statues are on the exterior, while 13 of the originals are inside the church's museum.

St.George by Donatello

Unfortunately, we could not take pictures of the inside of the church, but it was truly beautiful. Amazing ceilings and a Gothic Tabernacle that surrounds a painting of Madonna and Child by Bernardo Daddi. We walked up to see the original niche statues and they were nothing short of breathtaking. We then walked up the last set of stairs to see a great view of the city beneath us! Not only that, but the sun finally appeared after days of elusively hiding behind rain clouds. It was absolutely inspiring to see the sun shining down on the rolling Tuscan hills in the distance and lighting up the Duomo.

LET. ME. DIE.

Once again, I realized just how lucky I am for this opportunity. I am sincerely thankful for this experience because I know that I will learn so much through it, not only about Florence, but about myself. And, as cliche as that sounds, it's what studying abroad is all about, right? That AND the gelato... snagged some after visiting the church at Perché No, again!

Following a short meeting at CAPA, I went home for dinner with my homestay family. On a whim, I decided to buy train tickets for a day trip to Bologna on Saturday! GUYS, FOODIE CENTRAL. The weather better cooperate!

A presto!

p.s. Sorry for the potato quality of my photos. I forgot my camera at home and all I had was my ipod. 

Droppin' it low at the Galleria degli Uffizi and crying at La Casa di Dante

After going out to a bar named The Lion's Fountain (fun music but, not-so-fun people) last night, all I could think of was greasy, fattening, American fast-food. I know I'm in ITALY and the food is really yummy and healthy, but all I wanted last night were some nuggets and bbq sauce, about 5 slices of Sorrento's pizza and ranch, a sub from Uncle Sam's, or a bacon cheeseburger with extra lettuce from Five Guys... Actually, I want ALL of those things IN THAT ORDER. Maybe I'll just go crazy with that stuff once I get back to the states!

On Saturday morning I woke up and met Tylar at the Duomo for a day of museum exploration! We went to a small cafe for a cappuccino and literally the best pastry I've ever had in my life. Then we made our way to the Uffizi gallery, which houses amazing artworks such as Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Caravaggio's Bacchus, and Titian's Venus of Urbino. Personally enjoyed the restored statues and busts the most; particularly those in a room that Tylar and I decided to call the Stanza of the Danza- it has maybe 20 statues surrounding the entire room, and each character is depicted in movement, but to me, they definitely all looked like they were doing a lil' jig! REALLY MATURE, I KNOW, but I couldn't help it. I really enjoyed going through the Uffizi, and I definitely plan on going back there soon because after about 2 hours of walking through the museum, my head was throbbing with all the paintings I'd seen!

OHAI, DELICIOUS.

After the Uffizi, Tylar and I decided to eat at a tiny little sandwich shop named Da' Vinattieri near Dante's Church... I could die. Our sandwiches were LITERALLY the bomb diggity and the place was too cute for words. Outside the shop there are a few absolutely adorable bikes-turned-into-tables lining the wall where you can place your drink while nomming up your porchetta, rucola, and mayo panino. Honestly, perfect.

just posin' with her Dante and Beatrice sammich.

LOOK AT THIS CUTE BIKE TABLE, PLEASE.

That sandwich shop is directly next to Dante's Church; for those who don't know, this is the church where Dante first met Beatrice, the woman who inspired La Vita Nuova and led him through Paradiso in La Divina Commedia. Beatrice and her husband were buried at this church, and I could barely believe it.

Next up was Dante's House where many artifacts of the Alighieri family and paintings depicting Dante's work are on display. In the final room, the ENTIRE Divina Commedia is displayed on the wall along with illustrations of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. It was truly amazing, especially because Dante Alighieri's works were the reason that Tuscan dialect became the standard Italian language.

Right in the middle? The entire Divina Commedia work of literature.

I am glad to say that I finally went to Perchè No, a gelateria close to the Duomo where I ordered fragola (strawberry) and argumi (lemon and orange) gelato. Guys... halp! It was so fabulous that I don't think I'll be able to eat ice cream back home... ever.

Tylar and I decided we wanted to go into the Duomo museum, but after SOMEHOW missing the entrance like total dum-dums, and then circling the entire freakin' thing in the freezing cold rain, I made the executive decision that I needed to go home and crawl into bed to thaw under about 7 blankets... Now that I think about it, I should've brought my forever lazy to Florence.

Okay, funny story time. In a bout of wishful thinking, I decided not to take my umbrella while exploring, so naturally, it started raining while we were in the Uffizi. This meant that I got drenched while walking for 25 minutes from the Duomo to my homestay. A little old Italian grandma even made me get under her umbrella while waiting at a crosswalk- probably because I looked so pathetically wet and cold! Anyway, I got home and Dario (my homestay papa) met me at the foyer and said his mother was visiting and that I had to be introduced... Yes, I met my homestay grandmother while soaked to the bone. I have no doubt in my mind that I looked like a drenched rodent. Embarrassing, but va bene! I had coffee with them and a short conversation and it was truly so nice of them to invite me to sit! I felt really welcomed.

Until next time, ciao boos!

Classes, the third boob, and karaoke!

The last couple of days haven't been the most exciting because I've felt somewhat ill and only wanted to sleep, but I thought I'd give a short summary nonetheless!

After being in the Superior Italian language class for 2 days, I switched into the medio avanzato class; those kids spoke way too well, and unfortunately, I'm definitely not on that level yet. I feel so much more comfortable in this class, which is still advanced, but now I don't feel confused at everything! I also had my Italian Literature class which will focus on Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and a few contemporary Italian writers. This class is taught in Italian, but the professor speaks slowly (specifically for us international students) and is pretty easy to understand. I had my final class on Thursday afternoon- Renaissance Lit: Humanism, which is taught by none other than Dennis Looney, a professor at Pitt. He is such a great professor and I am so excited to take his class!

On Wednesday, I went out karaokeing with Tylar and 2 of her homestay friends (she has 7 other international students living in her homestay!). We went to a fun place called Shot Cafe where we all took a "Boob" shot and also had an "Orgasm..." definitely some questionable shot names!! We went to the karaeoke bar where Tylar and I did a very poorly sung version of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance and we rocked out to Bohemian Rhapsody, of course. It was a pretty fun evening full of ridiculous dancing and awful singing!

Also, on Thursday night I had gelato from a place called Vivoli... LET ME DIE, IT WAS SO GOOD. They had delicious flavors like pineapple, pear, etc etc, but I ended up buying some amaretto and pistachio gelato. Next time I go, I'll definitely be trying their fruit flavors. MMMMM, dead. I will probably go back there about a billion times!

Now it's Friday night and I'm ready to have some fun! Hopefully I'll have more pictures and stuff soon. Ciao ciao, y'all!

"I LIVE on a roll."

Tuesday was the first day I had class, beginning with a ridiculously difficult Italian language course at the University of Florence. The professor was very nice and pretty easy to understand (even at her normal native Italian speed), but the other students were clearly almost fluent and it was incredibly intimidating! It definitely was scary realizing how much Italian I don't know... siiiiigh. I think I'll be moving into a lower level which will still definitely be challenging, but at least I'll be able to participate without feeling completely useless.

After the Italian class, I met Tylar and 2 of her homestay friends for lunch and gelato. Not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but I plan on eating gelato every day... just a teeny little cup everyday, and no one can stop me. I DO WHAT I WANT. The gelato is literally absolutely divine; my favorites so far have been blackcherry and pistachio.

Tylar and I headed to our 3 hour class at CAPA called Understanding Modern Italy with the senior academics adviser of the CAPA program, Guido. This 7 person class is taught in Italian and is all about understanding the risorgimento and modern Italian culture. Guido speaks incredibly quickly, but very clearly and tells amazing stories once sidetracked, which seems to happen somewhat easily! Let me just say that he quickly became my one of my favorite professors...ever. He made us share somewhat intimate parts about our lives, things professors don't normally ask, but they were obviously important to him! He was especially intrigued by the fact that my parents (HI GUYS! I'LL CALL HOME SOON, I SWEAR!!) immigrated from El Salvador and that we speak Spanglish at home. Every now and then during the 3 hours, Guido would switch to English for 9.3 seconds and then switch back to Italian and I realized that I understood it all perfectly; it was such a seamless transition in my head and I was honestly just shocked! I think it was very apparent evidence that I'm already getting a bit better at Italian. Also, the title of this post is one of Guido's; when I said that he was on a roll which is why I hadn't interrupted him to ask a vocab question, he yelled "Karla, I LIVE on a roll!" and it just sounded so funny that the whole class cracked up. Even though it's 3 hours long, it's definitely going to be one of my favorite classes this semester.

That night, CAPA rented out a ristorante for the entire CAPA group and it was honestly one of the funniest nights here. One of the rooms was playing a college basketball game on a huge white wall, so of course all the boys couldn't stop drooling over it! The food was delicious: bruschetta, liver paste, tuna paste, prosciutto, salami, broccoli pasta, sage and butter ravioli, artichoke risotto, and tiramisu... basically everything I love in life! Most important part of the whole evening wasn't the food, but bonding with the program kids over a few bottles of wine... not that I drank any. Blegh! (Cara, se tu stai leggendo questo, mi dispiace tantissimo!)

The group I sat with was hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing, especially with quotes like "WAIT... can I tell you something weird? I made out with your boyfriend!!" It was truly fantastic sitting down with these kids and getting to know them! The teachers (Guido and Looney, the two greatest humans) obviously loved our Italian speaking skills and they kept coming over to talk to us and share stories. It really felt like such a nice little community and I hope we get to do it again soon! It was super tough leaving the restaurant but it was getting late and I still had homework to do for Wednesday, so Kelsey and I walked home with super high spirits!!

Monday productivity!

Monday started off with a very stressful placement exam at the CCF during which the advanced group of CAPA kids were handed a page with 4 prompts and had to write a 500-600 word composition. We had no previous knowledge of the prompts so there was a lot of bullshitting! After about an hour and a half of writing, staring off into space, and thinking about breakfast, I gave up and handed in my essay.

The group went to a little breakfast bar where we all ate standing up, which is a very Italian thing to do! For breakfast, they have coffee and bread/cookies/etc and eat while standing (if at a café). I love it! I had a marocchino and a croissant with some kind of sweet cream inside- very delicious! After wandering around for a bit, led by the boys in the group since I sure as hell don’t know where I’m going yet, we headed over to the CAPA center to get a few class things figured out.

This is when I realized some really fun information; because I am on the Advanced Italian Track, I’m able to take courses (taught in only Italian) at the University of Florence with ACTUAL Florentine students! In addition, because there are classes on Fridays, the courses only run until March 15^th, meaning that from that point on, I’ll be free to travel around Europe from Thursday nights until Tuesday mornings! And it was honestly the best news ever! The scheduling for the University of Florence classes is really weird though. My language class in from 8:45-11:30 every day and then from 11:45-1:15, I’ll have my Literature 1, Literature 2, or History of Italy course, but the days of the courses won’t always be the same each week. I might have the Lit 1 course on a Monday and Thursday, but the following week it’d be on a Wednesday with History on Friday. It’s kind of really stressful, but I highlighted all the days I have class and I think I’m set! Although I’ll still have 2 classes at CAPA on Tuesdays (Conversational Italian with the most fashionable Italian professor ever) and Thursday (Renaissance Lit: Humanism with the best Pitt professor aka The Loon-dawg) afternoons for 2-3 hours after my University of Florence classes are finished for the semester, I’ll take it!

After this, a few of us left from CAPA towards the Santa Croce church for lunch at a small restaurant where I had pasta, beef, and potatoes. Then we walked over to a corner gelateria where I HAD THE BEST BLACKBERRY GELATO EVER. I am drooling just thinking about it!! We went to sit over on the steps of the church and died over Florence’s beauty and then talked about cute animal videos for about 15 minutes. You know, normal things.

Tylar and I then went to the Uffizzi, which was closed like most museums in Florence on Mondays, but that was okay because we made our way across PONTE FREAKING VECCHIO to the other side of the Arno River. For those of you who don’t know: Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge in Firenze that was not destroyed during the bombings of WWII. We walked through Altr’Arno for a little bit and visited the Santo Spirito Church and the Palazzo Pitti, which was astonishing. 

View from the Ponte Vecchio.

We headed back to CAPA to find out our essay results after running into Kelsey and Catia. I found out I was placed into the Superior Italian class, which was so surprising! I don’t think my essay was really that good… but OKAY FINE WITH ME. I really think being in the advanced class will push me into learning Italian quickly and effectively!

I went home for dinner with my homestay family and it was fabulous like usual. The Italians eat dinner differently than we do. Generally there is some kind of pasta course, a meat course, salad or veggies, and then fruit for dessert. It was a little strange at first, but now I think I’m getting used to it! And I really enjoy eating fruit for dessert (although my family isn’t letting me eat apples or bananas because I mentioned I’m allergic to them- oopsies!). Another thing I’m getting used to at dinner is my family in general. They are very sweet (Dario even said that in the 10 years they’ve hosted international students, I’ve been the best at Italian! Woohoo!) and I am finally getting to be more comfortable around them! Tonight I even joked around with them and participated a little in their conversation about Berlusconi. I also tried to explain what a snuggie is, but I don’t think I did a very good job! My family speaks English, but unless I look UTTERLY confused about something they’ve said, they only speak to me in Italian, which is very helpful. I can already feel that I understand Italian a bit better. I have noticed that I have recently begun translating everything I say into Italian in my head, which is somewhat surprising but pleasant when I know how to do it! Here’s hoping that in 3 months, I’ll be able to speak almost fluently!

So many surprises everywhere!

My plans for my first Sunday changed because of the constant rain- I swear it’s like being back in Pittsburgh! I had planned to go to the Market at Santo Spirito, which is on the other side of the Arno River but due to the rain, I thought it could wait another week. I didn’t want to stay home all day, so Kelsey, Julia, and I met up for lunch and went to this little restaurant thing where we all had pizza and fruit with a whipped cream for dessert. And honestly, the pizza was VERY good, but I can’t wait to try even BETTER pizza. The fruit was BEYOND amazing… siiiiigh.

After lunch we decided we weren’t ready to go home so we explored the city a bit more… 4 hours more. Now, my family and friends know how lazy I am when it comes to physical activity, so I am completely amazed at myself for being able to walk for so long on these cobblestone streets with heeled wedged boots!

Sunday wasn’t the most exciting day, mainly because of the rain and because a lot of things are closed on Sundays! After walking around for so long, I was absolutely pooped and so I went home and lay around until dinner, showered, and went to sleep. I had to wake up around 7:30 to take a language placement exam at the Centro di Cultura per Stranieri (the Culture Center for Foreigners at the University of Florence) the next morning.

So far, I’m loving Florence! Although I definitely experienced some homesickness on Sunday, due to the weather and my jet lag, I am incredibly lucky and excited to be here! Something I find truly beautiful is the fact that while wandering around, you could turn on a random corner and immediately be in a piazza or near a gorgeous church without any real previous hint! The streets are so narrow and tall that it is almost impossible to see anything past what’s directly in front of you, so it was such a nice surprise when I accidentally stumbled upon the Basilica Santa Croce and the statue of Dante Alighieri. I was literally in shock and couldn’t even move… which is dangerous considering that people drive pretty crazily in Florence! 

Ciao ciao, y’all!

First full day in Italia!

As I read over my last post, I realized I never described my homestay family!! My mamma is Elisabetta, her husband is Dario, and their son is Bernardo. They are a very welcoming and nice family; very encouraging whenever I try to speak Italian and correct me whenever needed. They don’t seem to be home very much, but I don’t think I will be either. They live about 15-20 minutes from both the CAPA center and the University of Florence, which is perfect walking distance.

View from my balcony- Il Duomo! Che bello!

 Anyway, my first full day in Italy was very busy indeed. I had to go to the CAPA school in the morning and I wouldn’t have been able to get there without Kelsey’s help! I am the ABSOLUTE WORST at directions and I’m happy she met me at my homestay or I would still be wandering the streets of Florence trying to find my way!!

After filling out paperwork at the CAPA center for my “permesso di soggiorno,” the academics coordinator took the group for lunch at a small little sandwich shop followed by a 2 hour tour around the center of the city. The food was delicious- I got prosciutto and pecorino on a ciabatta loaf and it was lovely. Simple, but delicious!

Vittoria showed the group a piazza close to the CAPA center and gave us more information on where we could find things we needed. Then came the best part… I finally saw the Duomo up close… and it is positively breathtaking- such beautiful details and amazing architecture!

Cattedrale di S. Maria del Fiore

We continued the tour around the city and visited the Piazza della Republicca, walked by the Uffizzi (I have a pass that gets me in for free whenever I want!) and the Ponte Vecchio/Arno River and then came across what is thought to have been Dante Alighieri’s home. We saw so many piazze and sculptures. 

Ohai Ponte Vecchio!

After going home that night and having dinner with my homestay brother and his girlfriend, I explored the center of the city with Kelsey with one goal in mind: FIND A GELATERIA. After wandering for about 45 minutes we found one that was closing in 5! I ordered a small cup of strawberry and coffee gelato… *ahhhhh, angels singing and the heavens opening up* IT WAS DELICIOUS. I wish I could remember the name of the place… or even WHERE it was, but no matter! There are many more days to eat gelato.

After the short exploration trip, I went home and slept somewhat poorly (still suffering from jet lag), but it was necessary after the long hours spent walking around the city!

The stress of traveling... I hope it never happens like this again.

The day I left for Firenze was incredibly stressful and just a strange experience in general. I woke up around 8 when my mom came into my room; I was so confused at first (why was it so bright? why wasn't she at work? what the hell was going on?) and until she asked me "Uhhh, aren't you going to shower?" it seemed to have slipped my mind that I was leaving that day! I jumped out of bed and got all my last things packed... or so I thought.

My dad drove us to Philly for my last American meal (legit cheesesteaks from Pat's) but I couldn't even eat because I was so nervous! Then we drove to the airport where Tylar (a friend also going on the Pitt-in-Florence program) and I decided to get together before check-in so our parents could meet and for a few teary-eyed goodbyes. After giving my family half a bajillion hugs and assuring everyone that I’d have a fun and safe time, I finally went through security.

We met Kelsey at the gate and waited a few hours with butterflies at an all time high- WE WERE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON A 3 MONTH JOURNEY TO ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES ON THE PLANET. It was truly unreal. We boarded on time but unfortunately, there was a small problem with the plane… as a result of the 3-inch dent near the cargo door, our plane was delayed by 2.5 hours. Yes, we waited inside the plane for one hour of repair and one and a half hours of “paperwork.” During this time, I experienced intense anxiety because I had an hour and a half to make the connecting flight in Frankfurt, something that eventually became impossible. Trust me when I say that I was nauseous for the entire 7.5 hour flight to Germany… wondering what would happen with my luggage, what I would do to get another flight, how late I’d get to Florence. It was absolutely draining!

In order to take my mind off the possible drama that I would encounter after landing, I decided to watch Pitch Perfect (meh), The Dark Knight Rises (amazing, marry me JGL, marry me Anne Hathaway), and then study my Italian textbook… huge mistake trying to study. I realized how much Italian I had forgotten which made me incredibly nervous for meeting my Italian host family, so I tried to sleep. No luck there either. The entire time I was hoping this horrendous traveling experience wouldn’t be a bad omen for the rest of my semester!

After a grueling 10 hours on the plane, we had finally arrived at the Frankfurt airport. The pilot announced that those who had missed a connecting flight already had a flight to Florence arranged and they only had to go to the Lufthansa transfer desk- perfetto! After going through immigration and customs, all us Pitt-in-Florence kids got our new tickets, waited at the gate, and boarded our new Lufthansa flight with no problems at all! Things were finally improving!

The flight from Frankfurt to Florence was very short and we were in Florence in no time! A few of the CAPA staff met us at the airport and put us into taxis that would then take us to our homestays! My family welcomed me and directed me towards my room… with my own bathroom, balcony, and a view of THE FREAKING DUOMO DI FIRENZE. I was in heaven!! I unpacked all my things and then accidentally took a short nap- traveling for so long can make a girl super tired!

My mamma and I talked for a while after I woke up and I surprised myself by being able to communicate with her. It was a bit difficult, but I think I’m getting better so hopefully by the end of the semester, I will be able to speak without any problems and without pauses! We ate a dinner of lasagna, veggies, cheese/bread, and fruit for dinner… and everything was fabulous. Even the fruit tastes better here!!

I ended up sleeping right after dinner in order to be well rested for the CAPA led tour the following day.