Paris, here I come!

Yesterday's Soup Kitchen was quite the experience. Frederica walked us over (she is one of the student life faculty members) and she introduced us to all the people that worked there. For our first shift, we mainly just observed how they worked things and we handed out a bit of the food but we mostly watched. We served them bread, water, white or red risotto (tomato or Alfredo sauce), fish sticks, and apples. The people were pretty friendly, but most of them did not speak any English. This is a good time to use the Italian for sure!

We are going to be going once a week from here on out, and the shifts are only an hour long, although if we have time we might help out with two shifts in a row. Usually we get the extra food at the end, but this past time we didn't... the food looked scrumptious though! I probably won't be going next week because Chris will be here and you have to fill out all this paperwork before you can start volunteering.

Anyways... today I am leaving for Paris with Cierra. I am so excited to go to the Louvre, see the Eiffel Tower, and just be in France really; it will be my first time! I am going to France three times this semester. Paris, Southern France (to visit my cousin Julie and her family) and also I am going on another Southern France trip with my school. It goes to different places though so that's nice. When I am going to France again to visit my cousin, I fly into the Geneva airport because Julie only lives half an hour away from Switzerland. She is going to show us Geneva as well as her area. I am pumped!

Well I am off- but I will return late Sunday night and then Chris will be here the following day!

busy busy!

Updates

Today I am going to a Soup Kitchen! I signed up once a week at 11:40 for the rest of the semester. I couldn't be more excited! I will post about my experience later...

I have to start packing for Paris today and then Cierra and I are leaving tomorrow afternoon after lunch. We leave out of Pisa so we will have to take the train or bus first, and then we are off! I come back later in the evening on Sunday and then I have a test in Management and Organization the next day. Chris comes around 1:00 on Monday, so hopefully he will be pretty jet lagged because I have to study for another test in Principles of Finance on Tuesday. Should be a busy, but amazing week!


I hope all is well with everyone!

Ciao!

PS- I have attached various pictures I have taken around Florence. Enjoy :)

Austria weekend

This last weekend was spent in Innsbruck, Austria. It was so beautiful and snowy! I loved it there. On Thursday we left in the middle of the afternoon, and had about a 6.5 hour bus ride to our youth hostel. On the way we watched two movies; Inside Man and Children of Men. Both were pretty good; Children of Men was pretty freaky! We stopped along the way to get some dinner at a rest stop, and by the time I got to the hostel I was pretty exhausted and decided to take it easy for the rest of the evening.

The next morning I got up and got ready and had a quick Breakfast downstairs at the hostel. I had a roll with cheese and some cereal. It was pretty good! And then all of us that were going to the mountain loaded onto the buses around 8:30 AM and from there we took off to the ski rental place. I was in the first group who signed up for rental equipment, so I was one of the first people that got my stuff. I rented basic boots, skis, and poles for originally two days.




After I got my equipment, Cierra and I decided to go to a little bakery that was close by to the rental equipment shop. I got one of the best chocolate croissants I have ever eaten, and a ham, cheese, and tomato sandwich. As soon as everyone got their equipment, it was about 45 minutes from the shop. Once we got to the mountains, I was so excited to go on my first run! The snow was pretty good in parts- but also pretty icy in others. Overall the ski conditions were good because it wasn't snowing and it wasn't too windy at all. The only bummer thing was that my boots ended up being way too tight and I didn't realize it at the shop and I ended up getting pretty bad bruises on my shins just hours after I got there. For that reason, I kinda took it easy for the second half of the afternoon. Some friends and I hung out at the ski lodge and got a beer and played apples to apples. I had never played before, but it was super fun! I ended up winning :) After skiing, I was super tired and I ended up just going out to dinner with Cierra, and a bunch of the people that she skied with for the day. We went to this local restaurant near our hostel and I decided to branch out and get a dish that I would normally not get... it was chopped dumplings with grilled eggs and garlic and other veggies. It was yummy! It had a lot of good flavor- and it kind of reminded me of a Breakfast burrito haha.

Because I was pretty tired and my shins were in no condition for skiing the next day, I decided to take it easy the second day and Emma and I went on a little adventure and found the famous Ambras castle. It took us awhile to get there; we had to first go on a bus, and then transfer on a train and then the hostel receptionist said it was a short 2 minute walk from the train stop... but we had no idea which direction to go because we didn't have a clear map so we kind of just wandered around for awhile, and got directions from another hotel. We finally made it and it was worth it! The castle wasn't what I was expecting, but Ferdinand made it way back in the day and it was pretty medieval. In the castle there were lots of old medieval warfare things, as well as antlers, a blow fish (in the arts and curiosities section), and lots of paintings. Overall it was a good experience. We had a nice lunch at the castle's restaurant. We got the typical dish of Weinersnitzel (sp for sure) and it was delicious.

Emma and I had quite the adventure trying to get back to our hostel; it closes from 1-5 so we made an unsuccessful attempt of trying to get into it around 1:30. From there, we went back into what we thought was "town" but we weren't sure... I think it ended up just being a random residential stop we got off of, but we asked where a cafe was and we got some deserts to split and some hot chocolate that was to die for! It was then that I looked into my purse and realized that the key for the hotel had two keys; I thought maybe was one for the hostel when it was on "off hours?" so we took the bus back and made another unsuccessful attempt of trying to get into the hostel. I even climbed over a fence to try to stick my key in some of the doors... haha I felt like such a dork. But anyways, just before we were about to give up again, we saw that the baggage door was open (this had a lot of our snow equipment) and then we found a keypad where we could enter in the code for the day. We knew there was a place to enter in a code to get in, but the first time around, we couldn't find it! They never told us where it was... haha. So after a few attempts I managed to open the door and we were very happy. Both of us were pretty sick with a cold (I woke up that morning with a lot of congestion and a sore throat and head ache :( ) so we were glad we could relax and hang out until the rest of the group came back. The Gonzaga group either went skiing for the day or they went to the men's downhill skiing race. I really wanted to go to that too, but we would've been outside for 5 hours and I had a pretty bad cold so I thought it would be better to do something low key. I definitely don't regret it, but the people that went said it was a lot of fun! Well, the rest of the afternoon was spent watching 27 dresses, even though I fell asleep half way through it. After it was over, I took another small nap, talked to Chris on the phone, and then got ready for dinner.

Yesterday's dinner was one of my favorite memories of the weekend; Peter (one of the travel coordinators) is from Innsbruck, so he hooked us up with a great restaurant and local German dancers/singers. They were amazing! They did a lot of cool stunts and had great beat and rhythm. I was very impressed. For dinner we had a pancake strip soup (sounds strange but it was very good), Weinersnitzel again, and an apple strudel for desert. I actually ended up liking the Weinersnitzel I had at lunch better, but it was still great!

Well that pretty much concludes my memories of Austria- this morning we left around 10 am and had another 6.5 hour bus ride with a lunch break on the way. We watched "Stand by Me" which was a very funny movie. I had never seen it!

I hope you enjoyed this entry along with the pictures!

Ps! It less than a week until Chris comes to visit! I couldn't be more stoked! :)

Ciao!

Things I'm Thankful For

I was very inspired by my mother's blog in that she is trying to focus this year as a chance to focus on the good things in life, or the JOY that brings her true happiness. I want to adopt a similar objective, because I find that when I focus on the negative things in life I tend to only pay attention to those areas and neglect the areas that bring a smile to my face. I want to adopt a mantra that is truly full of optimism and JOY

Here are 10 things I am truly thankful for:

1. My loving family that has stood by me through thick and thin

2. My amazing new and old friends; my old friends who have kept in touch with me through my abroad experience and my new friends that I have been lucky to meet on this trip.

3. The ability to be able to get a good education

4. The opportunity I have to be able to travel abroad

5. Never having to worry about getting something to eat

6. Having a "ghetto fabulous" pensione to stay in for the year. Yes, yes, I complain about it lots but I will admit it has great people in it, and it has some true character.

7. Having a weekend to be just "alone" to relax and reflect

8. A good health- how lucky is that?

9. My boyfriend visiting me in just a few weeks! :)

10. Music- random, but it really does cheer up my mood and it's a great way to express yourself.

That was so easy! I think we have so much to be thankful for that it often goes to the back burner because as easy as it is to count your blessings, it's even easier to complain. I am opting to change that mindset because I am truly blessed and lucky to be in the place I am right now.



I found this gorgeous picture of a sunflower when I was researching for possible things to do in Florence when Chris is here. This site seems like they have some fun things to do on there. Anyways, other than researching for Chris's visit I have no idea what I'm going to do today- and for once I am OK with that. Maybe I'll get a head start to homework? My friend is coming back today after spending a week in Greece with her mom; so I will look forward to seeing her before she goes back to the states!

The pictures above are still from my last weekend visiting Sienna, Assisi, and Perugia. I am in love with the serenity of the locations.

The concept of being "alone"

This is a very odd and rare weekend for me because I am here, practically alone in Florence. Yes, yes, there are people here staying for the weekend but none of my close friends. You might think that this is the perfect time to "branch" out and meet new people but I am hesitating doing this. Why? Keep reading...

All my friends know me as a very outgoing and extroverted person. However, people who do not know me often think I am somewhat shy and reserved. What gives? Although I am always down for meeting new people and being social, I often am scared to make that "first move." I have been forced especially to do that here in Europe having not come with any good friends. Although I have met some amazing people, I have noticed that I haven't "bonded" with a lot of my peers here for whatever reason. That is, until a couple weeks ago...

It always seems that people come into your life when you least expect it. One primary example is my current boyfriend, Chris, who pretty much just "popped" into my life just weeks before I left for school. Although we knew that it seemed crazy to jump into anything serious, we knew after our first date that something just "clicked." I think this is the same for potential good friends as well... something just "clicks" and there is a certain moment when you think "Wow, I think we could become good friends..." This past semester I was almost fighting to find these "close friends" that I could have a connection with. However, something didn't feel right and I was pushing it thinking something was wrong with me. I think that I had the wrong perception because friendships evolve naturally and cannot be forced. I have a lot of friends here in Florence, but the good friends are far and few. I am lucky to say I bonded with my past room mate, Lillian, who is now back in school in Texas. Also, I have bonded to a certain extent with Cierra, Emma, and Annie. They are all amazing girls that I have spent lots of time with, and for that I am grateful.

Going off my thoughts from above, a couple weeks ago I met Georgina (who I went to Brugges with) on Christmas tour. She was one of two new students who attended the tour. I could never do that; going into something where you know you'll know absolutely NO one. I give her props for that for sure. We bonded immediately, and although we have had our ups and downs already, we have established a close friendship that I perceive will last. Soon after the trip ended and I was situated back in Florence, I met Jessie, who is one of the sweetest persons I have ever met. Immediately we got along great and soon enough Georgina, myself and Kristin (who was visiting last weekend) hung out for almost the entire weekend. I am lucky enough to say I think I have found two new potentially great friends! I am definitely glad I have stuck it out for the year, because I would never have guessed the things in store for me to come. I am still in wonder...

Now back to the concept of being "alone". Sadly enough, I pretty much am "alone" this weekend. Annie and Emma are off in Rome visiting a friend, Cierra is spending this weekend with her boyfriend who has been here for two weeks, and my new friends Georgina and Jessie are on their opening tour in Rome with the rest of the new Spring students. Although I know a few people staying here for the weekend, none of them have followed through with hanging out. I have done the efforts- texted, facebooked, and called a few of them asking if they want to go to dinner. I only heard a response from two people. One friend said he would call me when he finalized dinner plans... its 7:00 and I haven't heard from him. Another person when asked what they are doing for dinner simply responded, "I don't know..." with no follow through as to what I was doing. If you were to ask me 6 months ago what an evening like this would do to me I would probably be devastated and in tears because I felt I had no friends. Over dramatic? You bet, but as a very social person mixed with sensitivity... I often can't help but over analyze the fact that these so called "friends" decided not to answer or follow through with plans personally. I constantly make the effort to hang out with new people, but unfortunately I find that more often than not, they rarely show true interest in hanging out or getting to know me for whatever reason. Florence is not the first time for this kind of trouble for me. In High school I experienced a similar hard time being apart of the cheer squad, and again my freshman year of College, trying to fit in and almost forcing friendships with the girls on my floor.

What is the point to all my rambling? The point is I think I am finally becoming at peace with myself... just being alone and taking time to reflect on the week, things on my mind; or as I say "whateves!" This is a vast improvement for me because I am definitely not the introverted type like my mom, and I almost loathe being by myself. I feel restless and agitated and, well, I feel like a loser to be honest. Although I have made efforts to hang with friends tonight, I have chosen that I will not get hung up on the idea that if the don't call me back or contact me in some way, that I won't take it to heart. People are mainly just concerned with themselves, and because they are not good friends of mine, what obligation do they have to me? Depressing sounding, I know, but I have learned that real friendships come naturally and if they aren't meant to be, they just aren't meant to be.

I think I am going to spend the evening watching some sex and the city episodes, and perhaps start homework (although I doubt it because I forgot to take my adderall today and its the weekend, come on... haha)

Ciao Ragazzi!

A few of the pictures taken above are from last week on my visits to Perugia, Assisi, and Sienna. I thought they were all very peaceful and serene..enjoy!

Perugia, Assisi, and Sienna

This past week getting into the swing of things has been quite hectic! I have been so busy, but that's the way I like it :). So far I have enjoyed this semester much more than last. I think I am finally getting used to things here! This picture on your left is a view from the town of Perugia :)

Over the weekend my good friend Kristin from High school visited me in Florence and we had a great time exploring Italy. She arrived mid-day on Thursday and we just relaxed in the afternoon and then we all went out to dinner at a new place near Santa Croce. It was pretty expensive for what it was worth, but we had a good time overall. After dinner, we got a little turned around after having a few drinks but we managed to make it back to the pensione safely. We ended up just hanging out at the Sav for the remainder of the evening because Kristin was pretty jet lagged and she wanted to rest.

The next day, Kristin, Georgina and I took the train and went to Perugia which is a little town that is known for their chocolates. Before we left though, I took my friends to my favorite (and only place that I know of) to get bagels. Bagels and cream cheese is one of my favorite foods back at home and I crave them all the time while I am here! Luckily my mom and I found a place that sells them. After we picked up our snacks for the road we headed towards the train station. We did not really have a huge plan while we were there, so it was nice just being to leisurely walk around and explore the city. We were a little confused as to how to get to the city center, but we embarked upon a gondola type thing otherwise known as a "mini metro" that led us into town. It was pretty much a straight shot entirely up hill. Once we got to the top there was a gorgeous view of the city! We stopped for a late lunch at a nearby pizzeria and I had a really good rosemary and olive oil pizza as well as a slice of cheese pizza. Overall I found the town to be very small! For dinner we embarked on a great place near the train station for Chinese food. I had my favorite soup, hot and sour, and we split an order of egg rolls and pot stickers. It was the perfect amount of food to split! The food was also very inexpensive so that was nice on our wallets :). We also found a cute Italian restaurant with good deals right across the street. That night we went out to a fun bar called Public House. I had never been there, but it is pretty close to Santa Maria Novella church. We decided to take a taxi because we weren't sure where it was and we heard it was a pretty far walk.

The next day we ventured to Assisi, which is actually really close to Perugia. We were originally going to go to Parma, but we train tickets were very expensive. My new friend Jessie from Maryland joined us for the day and we had a great time just walking around again and taking lots of pictures. Its nice being able to take a short train ride to all these cool places in Italy. I love how each location is so different too! We ended up having to take a short bus ride into the main city area, but it was worth it! We climbed up this mountain-type thing to an old fashioned castle that was absolutely beautiful. At the top of the mountain there was an amazing view of the city. I decided that I may have to go back to Assisi at some point this semester, because we didn't have time to go inside all the churches. The sunset in Assisi was breathtaking. That evening we went to the Italian restaurant I mentioned above. The staff there was so friendly! They gave us 20% coupons for the next time we come in and also they took 10% off our entire order. Oh! And they gave us a free shot of Limoncello as we were walking out. How nice! :) For dinner we had this amazing tomato, oregano, garlic and cheese pizza and a ham and cheese pizza that we split amongst the 4 of us. Kristin and I also split this 4 cheese gnocchi. She had never had gnocchi before so I felt she needed to try it while in Italy. We will definitely be going back to that restaurant when we get a chance!

The final day (Sunday) we went to Sienna. That was a blast! We had to take another bus ride into the center of town and once we got there we had to walk through a little residential area full of old fashioned houses and architecture. It is these parts about Italy that I am totally in love with. This part of town was so peaceful and serene and not crazy busy and load like Florence. I love being able to get away just for the day :). The day was pretty low key again; we just walked around and had a great time. Kristin had her first gelato in Italy and loved it! We headed back around 5:00 and had a nice evening in Florence just to relax and unwind. Kristin left early Monday morning around 7:00 AM to catch a flight to Greece. She met her mom there on Monday and they are traveling all around Greece for this week. She is returning to Flo on Saturday and spending one last night here and is heading back to the States on Sunday.

I started my new classes last Thursday and they don't seem like they will be too bad. My operations class seems intense (forget if I mentioned that) but the others seem fine. I have two 3 hour night classes which sucks, but I have all of Weds off to relax and do my own thing so I am loving that! I actually got to sleep in today until 11:30 which is almost UN-heard of here!

Well I better get going but I will write later! I am planning on staying in Flo again this weekend and hopefully I can do some more day trips!
Ciao!

A quick trip to Brugges, Belgium

This past few days my new friend Georgina were in Brugges, Belgium. It was such a cute town! This was a very last minute trip, but we figured since we had from Saturday-Wednesday off school, we might as well make the most of it! And we sure did...

We decided to go to Brugges instead of Brussels because Georgina's father highly recommended it, and we heard there was much more to do here than Brussels. It was quite the hassle to get there, let me tell you! We first had to catch a Terravision bus by the train station to get the Pisa airport. The bus was about half an hour late, and we were on a time crunch so we were a little stressed. We ended up arriving just in time to the airport, but then we found out that the plane was an hour delayed. No big deal right? We thought this actually worked for our benefit, because the line for security was horrendous. Once we got through security, we found out our flight was now two hours late... half an hour later it was three hours late... and well, you get the idea. Long story short, we ended up waiting in the airport almost an extra 6 hours. The reason? Technical difficulties... scary! Some Italian guy said a flight collided in London. This definitely did not make me feel good at all... I was hoping I heard him wrong. Anyways, we were a little ticked and frustrated but we made the most of the situation. We walked around the airport as much as we could (its tiny) and Ryanair provided us with a free meal by the security gate. That was nice, but we had to go back through security again... its such a hassle.

Anyways... once we finally arrived in Brussels, we had to figure out how exactly to get to Brugges. We ended up having to take an hour bus to the Brussels train station, and then we had to take a train into Brugges. We didn't end up getting to Brugges until like 11:30 and the nice man from the bed and breakfast we were staying at was there to pick us up. The bed and breakfast was super cute! We were very comfortable with our room, and Andre and his wife were very nice and accommodating.

Of course we got tons of chocolate while we were in Belgium. That night we decided to just take it easy that night and the next morning we had breakfast around nine and then we asked Andre how to get to town where all the shopping and sites were. After much confusion figuring out the bus, we finally headed towards town and were immediately impressed by how cute the little town was! We had a great time shopping (H&M is always a hit :) ) and looking around and taking pictures. We were both craving Chinese food, so we found this yummy place and split fried noodles with chicken, spring rolls, and hot and sour soup (my fav!). We were pretty cold and tired at that point, so we took a break and went back to our room and watched Sex and the City and just relaxed. A few hours later, we got all cute and ready and went out to the town on the bus again and found a place to eat for dinner. The dinner was alright- but extremely overpriced. A dinner split between just us two ended up being like 52 euro! How ridiculous... that's like 70 American dollars. We split spaghetti bolognese, grilled chicken (which was pretty hard), and calamari. The calamari was actually shaped in onion ring form. I have never eaten it like that! I love fried calamari... most people think this is strange because I HATE seafood but I guess I don't really taste the "sea" in the calamari. I know, I know, I am a strange person... haha


After dinner we didn't really have the strength (or money) to go out and drink at any bars. Not to mention it was literally FREEZING! Our feet felt like they were going to fall off. We weren't sure if we missed the last bus or not, so we decided to take a short taxi ride back to Andre's.

The next morning started off pretty much the same... Breakfast around 9:00 and then we went into the town again. We were originally looking for the Guilded Houses and the famous Brewery (with over 400 beers) but we were unsuccessful in finding both of those. We ended up having a great day though! We did a little more shopping, and stopped at a tea house and had a cappuccino (Georgina had tea) and we split a typical Belgium Waffle. It was delicious! The rest of the day we just wandered and purposefully got lost. We took the bus back and relaxed for a couple hours and had a low key dinner at a local bistro within walking distance of the b & b. We had Bitterballin (my mom told me I HAD to try this at some point, toasted ham and cheese mini sandwiches, and a dish of macaroni and cheese with bacon. We also split some red wine. That night, we finished the rest of Season 5 of Sex and the City (courtesy of Chris! :) ) and got to bed relatively early because we had to be up at 5:45 AM the next morning.

The next morning, we got up super early, finished packing, ate a roll and were out the door by 6:15. Andre was kind enough to take us to the train station again and we arrived just in time to catch the 6:30 train, and it took about an hour. From there, we had the difficult task of trying to find the bus that would take us back to the Charleroi airport in Brussels. With much asking, we ended up finding the bus and it took off less than 10 minutes later. We are lucky everything worked out! :) We arrived at the airport in plenty of time and walked around the shops before we departed. Thank goodness it wasn't delayed this time! The flight took about two hours and from there we waited at the Terravision bus stop for our journey back to Florence from Pisa. This took forever because they waited until the entire bus was filled so we didn't end up leaving until like an hour and a half after we landed. Oh well! Everything else rain very smoothly that day.

Overall it was a fun, but brief trip! I am looking forward to the next two weekends in Florence. My friend Kristin from HS just arrived from Seattle and she is staying with me for the weekend. We are planning on going on lots of day trips this weekend to a bunch of places in Italy. We are thinking Assisi on Friday, Ravenna on Saturday, and Perugia (chocolate anyone?!) on Sunday. It will be a fun filled weekend for sure.

Today was the first day of classes- it feels weird to be back in school but I don't think the semester will be too bad. I am only taking 15 credits so I won't be super busy with school work.

Well I am off to unpack the lovely suitcase my mother packed for me!

Arrivederci!

New Years Day

Tonight is the final night here in Russia. It has been a very laid back New Years for sure. In Russia, New Years is a holiday that is second in line of importance, so pretty much all the stores, museums, businesses were shut down today. Although I am pretty bummed I couldn't explore the city today (we are about 30 minutes away from the downtown part of St. Petersburg)it was nice to have a "chill" day at the hotel. Basically I got up at 11:30, had brunch with Cierra soon after that, bought the internet, went to the grocery store, and went out to dinner for Chinese food. That was my day in a nutshell.

I was happy the grocery store was open at least; it is right next to our hotel. I just got some snacks and things because the only meal that was provided for us today was brunch at the hotel. It was pretty good- I have been really impressed with the complimentary Breakfasts that these hotels have offered on this trip. Perhaps its because we are not staying in low budget hotels or hostels where they normally just give you a stale croissant and burnt tasting coffee.

Here is a picture of us all dressed up on New Years Eve :). Today Cierra and I split the cost of getting the 24 hour internet in our room. We took half an hour to one hour intervals to check our email, surf, talk on skype, etc. It was so nice! I really miss having "high speed" internet. I mean, me a couple months ago would say this internet was slow... but compared to Italy it is amazing! I could actually hear people on the other end of the skype to skype conversation and it never cut out. I really wish Florence would get their act together (or Giuseppe) and fix the dang internet... its about time haha.

For dinner, Father Bryan, Cierra, and my new friend Georgina walked a few minutes to a local Chinese restaurant. We were very impressed with our food! I was craving some hot and sour soup and it turned out really good. Way better than the take out place in Italy. We also split some Wonton Soup which was equally as good, and I got some chicken fried rice and had a couple spring rolls. Overall, the meal was delicious and cheap! It has been really nice getting to know Father Byran on this trip. He is living and studying in Rome right now, and he is just 3 classes away from getting his law degree. I told him all about my dad and his recent accomplishment of graduating, passes the bar, getting a job, etc. He was very interested and pleased that he went back to school for another career! :)

Tomorrow we are getting up around 9:00 and having Breakfast, and meeting up with the GU group at 11:30 and we are on our way back to Italy! It is going to be a long day of traveling... we are taking a flight into Milan, and then we have a 3 hour bus ride back to Florence. We won't be getting in until like 10:30 at night. WHEW!!

Well I better wrap up because Cierra wants to sleep now... hehe. Have a good day everyone! :)