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!