Sorrento Part 2

The next morning after our boat trip to Capri, we took a train to Pompei(i). From there we took a bus to Mount Vesuvius and hiked to the top. One of my roommates Sydney fell on some rocks and broke her toe. Then a man yelled at her in Italian something about wearing the wrong shoes. Whoops. Anyways Mount Vesuvius is awesome, a long and steep hike to the top.

After Vesuvius we went back to Pompeii. Such an awesome experience, and I never realized how huge it is. We wandered around for hours exploring the ruins and learning about the history. There was a pack of about 5 stray dogs that followed us around all day. We gave them all names and tried to think of ways to sneak them back into the hostel, none of them realistic.

After what felt like the longest day of my life, we made it back to the hostel and ate french fries and drank Sangria (which is a lot stronger than the fruit punch stuff in the states -these people aren't messing around).

The next morning we packed up and ate our complimentary breakfast of COFFEE (thank God) and croissants. Then we were off. I will spare all the details of travel because they are boring and monotonous. Except for when Jacob tried to do a pull-up on the subway and nailed his head on the ceiling. Or when Nathan slapped a cactus because he thought it was a giant leaf. These are the people I'm dealing with here. Gotta love it.

Sorrento

Friends,

My apologies for the lack of postage the past few days. I haven't been near a computer since last week.

So much to tell, I'm not even sure where to start.

Last thursday we went back to Rome and saw the Spanish Steps and the Borghese Museum that has an exhibition of Bernini sculptures that can make a grown man cry.

At the end of the day my friends and I took a train from Rome to Naples. Then from there took a sketchy subway (makes Marta look classy) from Naples to Sorrento. We arrived around 9:30 and walked to our hostel from the station.

We stayed at a hostel called Hostel 7. Apparently it's the #10 nicest hostel in the world. This place was paradise. Which seems like an oxymoron for a hostel, but I am serious. Really modern setup, great music, great food, tons of young people -mainly Americans- staying there. It was so nice to be around people that speak english and understand the necessity of a toilet seat (not kidding, the toilets here don't have seats). The rooms have 10 beds in them, and we had a group of 9. I felt so bad for the lone ranger in bed number ten that had to put up with our (and by 'our' I mean the guys) shenanigans.

The next morning we took a private boat tour to Capri. The boat took us to Capri, handed us some sandwiches and a sack full of beer and let us loose. We explored the island and took a ski-lift type deal to the highest point and the view was incredible. A couple hours later the boat came to pick us back up and took us around the the Grottos (caves) around the island. We got to swim into them and jump off the rocks inside. One of the coolest things I've ever seen/done. The color of the water is this rich royal/turquoise blue that reflects off every angle of the cave inside. When you see places like this in movies you just assume they don't really exist. Oh but they do. Everyone got all cut up from the rocks and stung by jellyfish. All part of the experience, plus we looked way hardcore bleeding all over the boat.

Our tour guide's name was Augustido and he was fine. The epitome of an Italian Stallion. He let the guys drive the boat while he sat at the front and drank beer. How great is this country?

We were on the boat all day, and were wiped out when we got back to the hostel. We stopped at a local supermarket to buy some wine and beer (it's so expensive at the bar at the hostel). When we got back we realized we had no way of keeping it cold. I don't know why, but the Italians have not discovered the concept of ice. It makes me crazy. So we resorted to walking around town begging restaurants for a bag of ice. Long story short, someone took pity on us and gave us a ziplock full. How kind. So we marched straight back to the roof of Hostel 7, used our trash can as a cooler, cut our lemons with a plastic knife, and watched the sunset. You can't beat it.

Untitled (i'm tired of thinking of a new one every time)

Hey hey!

Just a quick update-

Our alarm got set two hours too early this morning, unbeknownst to me. So I was up and showered at 4:45 am. So to kill time I made horrible expired instant coffee I found under the sink that had Chinese writing all over the package. And that killed about 15 minutes.

We went back to Florence today for our field trip. We climbed over 450 steps to the top of The Duomo, or "dorm" as Tempestt calls it. Pain in the ass climb on the way up, and a million claustrophobic asians trying to walk back down the tiny stairwell the wrong way. It helps if you are mentally picturing all this.

Anyways the view from the top of the Duomo is stunning and you can see all of Florence from the top. So amazing.

After the Duomo our photo class went to the Alinari Brothers Photography Museum. We saw some of the first photographs ever made, and some very famous images that I couldn't believe I was actually seeing with my own eyes. Once again, So cool.

For lunch we ate at McDonalds. I was SO happy to get some nuggs and a diet coke. Don't get me wrong, Italian food is phenomenal, but no matter where you eat, your choices are limited: (Long run-on sentence. My apologies) Pizza or pasta. We have pasta every night for dinner and I eat pizza and or Nutella for lunch. Italians are crazy for Nutella, they put it on everything.

Anyways, point being, it was great to have some food from the good ole U.S. of A. Except the toy in my happy mean was a plastic box. My friend Brandi got awesome binocluars and I got a plastic box. Thanks a lot ronald.

We are doing wine tasting tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to that. Wish I had the funds to ship everyone a bottle of the local vino. But don't get too excited because I don't. You'll just have to take my word that it's awesome.

Today a man in Florence with a unibrow called me "sexy america". Don't act like you aren't jealous.

Ciao.

Real Quick

I only have 28% battery left, and as most of you know in the Mac world that is not very long. So I'll be brief.

Oh what I wouldn't give for a sweet tea from Chick-fil-a.

We have tuna spaghetti for dinner tonight. Appetizing? Eh, not really. Did I eat it anyways? Absolutely. The tiramisu for dessert made up for it.

All the days are beginning to run together, I can't exactly remember where I left off.

The boys that missed the bus on our hike ended up walking all the way back to Montepulciano that night. 14 miles total. Ha.

Yesterday I did some more exploring of the town, going in some of the shops and hiking down to some nearby sites.

Last night our whole group went to the nightclub, "Archi's". Such an interesting scene. There was live music and it was lots of fun. The Italian men were flocking, and trust me, it was hardly as glamorous as it seems. Lots of sheer button down shirts and hair gel to the nth degree. I really think that they believe if they wink and call you 'sexy bella' enough that you will dance with them. Italian men dancing is the most entertaining thing I've seen the whole trip. It looks exactly like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TsRdkrxl4g

Hope you all have a nice idea of what I'm dealing with here.

Anyways, Archi's is a blast, especially when the whole group is there. I was doing The Hustle with the best of 'em. There are about 50 of us, both probably only about half come out.

We slept most of the day today, all of us are warding off bad colds. And classes are tomorrow. Praying the warm weather keeps up.

Love and miss everyone.

Ciao ciao.

The past couple days..

Hellooo everyone!

I have been here a week now!

It has been a couple days since my last post. I will do my best to sum everything up.

Wednesday we had classes and the weather was cold/ raining (still). I wasn't feeling that great so I slept all day after class and skipped dinner (which is a big deal for me). I think it has something to do with the cold weather and our apartments not having heat. Yep, that'll do it. Everyone in the group is starting to get sick.

Yesterday was our field trip to Florence. Our first stop was the Uffizi Museum. We had a guided tour and got to see a number of paintings that we've been studying in Art History, which is a little bit surreal. So much to see, and so much history. Once again, words really don't do it justice.

After our tour at the Uffizi we had planned on going to the Academia to see Michelangelo's David, but we couldn't get enough tickets for the whole group. Dr. Keene (Gandalf), says we will definitely get to see it on our next trip to Florence next week. We had some free time to walk around, and go see Brunelleschi's Dome and Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. Both sites that have been drilled into my head as an art student. It's nice to be able to really appreciate these things.

At the end of the day we all walk back to the bus and we are free to either come back to Montepulciano, or stay in Florence for the weekend. About half the group stayed in Florence, and a few were going to take a train to Venice for the weekend. I had planned on going to Venice but the forecast said rain and just the roundtrip train ticket price was just shy of 100 Euro. Not including hostels or food. Plus, it's apparently 100E for a Gondola ride??? No thank you.

So a good number of us came back on the bus and decided to stay in Montepulciano for the weekend. Last night we went over to some friend's apartment and played cards while watching 'Jackass' on someone's laptop. How cultured are we?

This morning I slept until 11 and woke up to sunshine. SUNSHINE!! Finally. I did laundry in the sink, which took a while. We have a washer, but it is tiny tiny and takes about 4 hours to finish a load. Which is only like 2 pairs of pants because that's all you can shove in there. So anyways, I hand washed everything. We don't have a dryer so I hung my clothes on a close line off of our balcony. How Italian.

We met up with some friends around 1 to try and figure out the closest route to get to the nearby lake. The tourist station was closed, so we decided to strike out on our own. Mistake. We headed literally straight down the mountain side. I'm talking hopping over barbed wire fences, running alongside herds of sheep. Look at my album on facebook and find the pictures of the landscape with the church in the left corner. That is somewhat what we were trekking through. Except there were no nearby houses. Or road. We somehow found a way to avoid every road. We could sometimes see one in the distance, but have no way of getting to it. It looks so easy and Sound of Music-esque from a distance, but when you actually get there you are walking through fields of wheat taller than you are.

Needless to say we got lost.

And if it had been an all girls trip we would have used our good sense and turned around long before hopping fences and running from killer sheep. Of course all the boys INSISTED they knew where they were going and they could pick up the trail "just around this turn". HA.

To make a long story short after 3 hours of wandering through wheat fields, vinyards, sheep, sheep poop, and mud, we came to the main road. The girls headed back to town and the boys kept on.

We followed the uphill winding road back to town and made it back in about an hour. Around that same time we got a call from the boys saying they made it to a nearby town but missed the last bus to Montepulciano, and they weren't sure what they were going to do to get back. Ha! we TRIED to tell them they were dumb. But I guess now they know.

Now that I'm back I made a quick trip to the marketplace (had a different lady and she didn't hate me). And went to a street side cafe with some girls and ate some pasta. And now here I am! Exhausted, dirty, thorns stuck all in my clothes. But so happy. This place is wonderful and full of magic and adventure. As stupid as that sounds. I don't even care because it's true.

Tomorrow Dr. Keene is leading a hiking trip for anyone that wants to go. I was all for it last night but after today, I think I might pass. I still feel like there is so much of the town I haven't seen. So if the weather is nice I might do some more exploring that doesn't involve herds of wild animals and desecrating the local farmers' crops.

If you want a postcard, send me your address on facebook and I will do my best to send one!

Doing as the Romans do.

Hello All,

Today was our field trip to Rome. We left at 7am. After a 3 hour bus ride, we made it there. Our first stop was the Vatican.

Crowded, crowded, crowded, Asians.

The whole place is really confusing, if my photo teacher didn't know where she was going, we all would have been screwed.

Our first stop was to the see paintings of all the masters. Raphael, Bernini, Caravaggio.

Unreal.

Words really fall short when you describe what it's like seeing these works of art. Such a moving and somewhat inexplicable out of body experience. Maybe it's just because I paint myself, that I appreciate it so much. It was all I could do not to burst into tears looking at some of these pieces.

Eventually I pulled myself together as we meandered through the ins and outs of the Vatican, and after much suspense, we arrived at the Sistine Chapel. Or the 'sixteen' chapel as Tempestt refers to it.

Again, unreal. I'm not even going to describe what it's like, you just have to go see it yourself. No picture in any text book in the world does justice to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. So go see it.

We also got to see St. Peter's which is also unbelievable. If you ever want to feel insignificant (in a good way), go see the Grand Canyon, hike through the Redwood Forest, and walk inside St. Peter's in Rome.

We made it back a little bit before dinner.

Matt, if you're reading this, I ate the cheesecake of your dreams tonight. Sorry.

Class tomorrow. The weather was wonderful today (not raining) so I am hoping for the same tomorrow.

Love and miss you all.

And p.s. Lauren- I haven't seen any Poodles. Lots of pigeons, a couple bugs, but no poodles.

Ciao Ciao.

First day of class

I want to throw up a thank you to all my devoted followers!

Today was the first day of classes, 9-3:30. For those of you that don't know, I'm taking photography classes.

It was sunny for part of the day, then it started raining in the late afternoon.

There are so many dang hills here, ya'll are going to be so jealous at how TIGHT I am when I come home.

The lady at the supermarket gave me the stink eye again today.

I ate pizza again for lunch. And a crepe....and gelato.

You know the funny thing about Italy, is it's exactly like you think it would be. The food, the scenery, the way people talk (really exaggerated using their hands and dragging out the last syllable), even the old people are really short, wear scarves on their heads and walk with their hands behind their backs.

We are going on our first field trip tomorrow to the Vatican, and to the Sistine Chapel! HOLLER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today..

This morning all of my roommates and I slept until 12:30, our apartment is so dark with the windows closed that you lose all concept of time.

A few of us met up and ate lunch at a local pizza place and then went to a local winery (I guess that's what it was?) and tasted some of the local wines. We walked around in the main piazza at the top of the hill (where they shot new moon). I broke off from the group and went exploring, trying to get a few pictures. The rain has been off and on all day.

Everyone went to the local nightclub last night and the majority of the group is just now waking up (it's 5:00 Pm). There are only about 4 of us, besides the faculty, that are 21 so the rest of the people in the group are going nuts because they can legally drink here. Lovely.

I'm going to try to load some pictures tonight after dinner!

Ciao.

Buon giorno!!

I have arrived! Not quite sure where to start, the past couple days are a blur. It is currently 1:40 PM Italy time, which means 7:40 AM America time. Weird.

After flights, layovers, more flights and a long bus ride, we ended up traveling for almos t a full 24 hours. We arrived in Montepulciano around dinner time last night (Italy time). Dinner was provided at a local restaurant that I cannot pronounce the name of. I made the mistake of filling up on the first course, not realizing there were 2 more coming. We were all so tired we all passed out right after dinner.

The weather is cold and rainy, good thing I packed a million skirts and sundresses. But the views are amazing. It is such a quaint little town, it doesn't even seem like it's a real place. One it stops raining I'll take some pictures and post them. You are are just going to die when you see it here. Especially you, Mom.

I haven't gotten a chance to get one of the local cell phones, I'll try to get one next week. Just a trip to the market was enough for one day. The lady at the register was not too fond of my lack of Italian speaking skills. She kept asking me something in Italian and all I could do was stare blankly at her and say "I have no idea what you are saying". Over and over. Holding of the line. I will have to avoid her register next time around.

I also have no idea about anything I bought. Is it detergent? Is it softener? Is this milk or half and half? I guess we'll find out.

Our team leader Professor Keene took us on a tour this morning and is about to take us to the train station to show us how to buy tickets, etc. He is pretty great and has been here a few times. Plus he totally looks like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.

I'm living with 4 other girls, all using one bathroom. And we haven't quite grasped how the hot water heater works. So for now, cold showers for everyone. I don't really know how to explain our apartment. It has very dated furniture and smells like the lake house in Montgomery. We have a balcony that overlooks a 'courtyard' which is really just the backs of the other apartments. It has a very Italian feel. Cold and smooth red brick floors. Once again Mom, you would love it. I'll post pictures of the place as soon as I can. Probably in a week or so.

The wine is super cheap and super wonderful here! I still don't feel quite adjusted, and I'm very out of my element. But I'm thinking in a week or so I'll feel more adjusted. I'll be updating every chance I get, but there are only 2 spots in town with wi-fi. Both of those 2 places are closed now so a bunch of us are sitting on the steps surrounding the building trying to pick up remnants of a signal. Such a sight.

Ok everyone thanks for reading and stay posted for more! This is only the first day we've been here so I'm sure I will have much more to tell over the next few weeks.

Love you all!

Preface

Hello friends, family, and fellow bloggers.

Welcome! I will do my best to keep everyone updated on my Italian endeavors over the next 6 weeks. Next time I post I will be in Montepulciano!

Ciao.