April 24

Well, this is it. I'm sitting here in the airport lounge waiting to board my flight to go home. I have mixed feelings about my study abroad experience here. In a lot of ways, I was disappointed. I didn't really connect with many people because they just wanted to party and drink, our apartment was a disaster (as far as appliances but also as far as the roommate situation), Florence was way smaller than I thought it was and there wasn't too much to do, and there weren't really any events hosted by SACI. I came to Italy having really high expectations because of my study abroad experience in Rome and that may be part of the problem. I find the people in Rome to be much nicer (they actually speak Italian with you, they aren't annoyed if you ask them for directions, and they are interested in talking to you). Also, even though the school that I was at in Rome was smaller than SACI, it at least had clubs, and cooking classes where you actually cooked. Plus there is always so much going on in Rome.

All that being said, there were some moments that I will cherish. Even though many people didn't want to spend money and go out (surprisingly) that didn't stop me from doing what I wanted to do. I went horseback riding, took a trip to the Amalfi Coast, and took a trip to Rome. All by myself. Previously, I was scared to go places by myself. Not just because I'm in a foreign country and the Italian men love American girls, but because I naturally like being around people and don't like eating meals in restaurants by myself or traveling alone. But I did it, and I think that has made me an even stronger person. I also had fun going on field trips with my classes, especially the Carrara/Pietrasanta sculpture trip, the Certaldo ceramics trip, and a lot of the museums I visited with my museology class were pretty cool. I had fun on the Siena and San Gimignano trip, until I sprained my ankle of course (which still hasn't healed.. I'm getting an x-ray when I get back to the States).

Looking back, I think it would have been better for me to study abroad at another school, but should I ever find myself with the opportunity to study abroad again, I would love to go back to Rome. Every time I go back (I've been there four times now) I always find something new to do, something new to see, and always find myself talking to interesting people. LCAD has a nice summer study abroad trip that goes to different locations each year, so I hope to one day do that if I can't do a full semester abroad.

In any case, I left the apartment bright and early today and said goodbye to my tiny room. I won't miss the church bells, the noise from the bar, or the noise from my apartment. But I will miss people watching from my window... All the tourists used our street. Everything is empty now...

I got to the airport really early (before check-in even started) but it was better than sitting at the apartment. I was the first in line for check in, and then had to do a tax refund for some sunglasses I bought here. Now, I'm sitting in the lounge waiting to board. 

I'll probably do another post once I get home to LA since I love taking pictures out the window of the plane so...

Ciao for now!

April 23

Today was my last day of school here in Italy. I had my museology final presentation which went pretty well. Compared to others, my presentation was pretty long (considering one girl presented for only five minutes) and there weren't a lot of questions for me, so hopefully I did well. Either way, it feels great to be done with classes. 

When I got back to my apartment, I was a bit excited so I ran around my apartment... I'm a bit excited!

I have an early flight tomorrow so...

Ciao for now!

April 22

Today was my second to last day in Italy so I ran around all day getting ready for my departure. In the morning, I went to the shipping company across the river to ship my ceramics home. I wasn't given a price today because they have to wrap it differently than my sculptures that were shipped last week. So, if I don't hear from them before tomorrow afternoon, I won't be able to pay cash which would be a bummer. But it is what it is. All the staff at the office was impressed with my work though, so that made me feel good! They all loved my safari animals. That seems to be the favorite.

When I got back from the shipping company, I went to Conad to get snacks for the plane. I found the Italian version of matzo, which I thought was pretty funny. I got some pesto and the guy weighed it, put the price tag on it for me and then put in extra. I'll miss my friends at the supermarket!

I did a bit of cleaning when I got home, and now my room looks like this. 

I was finally able to take a nap and actually sleep, which was really nice because I am sleep deprived right now. It's loud almost every hour of the day (and night for that matter) so it was good to catch up on sleep a little. 

Tomorrow is my last day in Florence and I have to present my museology final on MOMA. I'm still trying to think of what I want for my last meal. It's between ZaZa's for their balsamic vinegar steak and Gusta pizza for their, well, pizza! As good as it is, I am so pizza-d out, so we'll see where I go. 

Ciao for now!

April 21

Today was very exciting. I had my cinema class where we just turned in our papers and left. This was my last class so that's one class down! I also had ceramics where I took my final. Our professor uses the exact same questions as the ones that are on the study guide so it was really easy. I also ended up having my final ceramics critique of all my work which went well. My professor was pretty pleased with what I have accomplished. She mentioned my dedication and eye for detail, so hopefully I'll have an A in the class. The remainder of class was spent cleaning the studio but even then I was able to leave early. My professor told me I don't have to come to class on Thursday since I'm all done and students are just having individual critiques then. So, that's another class down! And since I've been done with my sculpture class for weeks... That just leaves one more class: museology on Thursday. And then I'm free! Anyways, here's all my work ready for shipping! 

 Now, I can ship all my ceramics home since there's no way I can take it all in my suitcases. But in order to do that, I have to walk 20-30 minutes to the shipping company across the river. So, since I don't want my ceramics to bang against each other on the walk over there tomorrow, I have to wrap them up. I don't have any bubble wrap or paper towels, so I had to improvise... With trash bags and rolls of toilet paper. Whatever works, right?

After I ship all this home tomorrow, I'll just have to give my final presentation for museology on Thursday before flying out Friday morning. I may have to go to Gusta pizza one more time and I may also have to go to ZaZa's to get the balsamic vinegar steak with rosemary potatoes that I love so much. But first... We'll see how much it costs to ship all my ceramics home. Yikes... 

Ciao for now!

April 20

Today was a lazy day where I tried to catch up on sleep (and failed, of course. It's so noisy... I have bags under my eyes). Tomorrow I have my ceramics final and critique and I also have to turn in a paper for my cinema class. After that, I'll just have to ship my ceramics home on Wednesday and I'll have my museology presentation on Thursday... Then I'll be all done! I'm pretty much all done with packing up my suitcases and there's hardly anything left in my room. Needless to say, I'm excited for Friday haha.

Ciao for now!

April 19

Today I was supposed to take a half day to Ostia, Rome's former city, but the trip got cancelled because not enough people signed up. It would have been really expensive to take a taxi and going on the metro wasn't appealing after my metro experience in Naples. So, I ended up just spending time at the hotel. Originally, I was supposed to be on a 4pm train but since I've been everywhere around the hotel (Colosseum, churches, etc.) many times, I went to the train station early to change my train. Luckily I only waited about half an hour (this is considered very short) for my number to be called at the office (in Italy you have to take numbers everywhere you are.. Pharmacy, police station, train ticket office, etc). I ended up taking a train at noon, and although it was really crowded it went well. On my way home from the train station, I had to take a slight detour because some Italian guy was following me and trying to talk to me. Yay Italy... In any case, he finally walked away and I went home. Now I'm just counting down the days until I fly home!

Ciao for now!

April 18

Today could not have been any more perfect. I took a trip to Hadrian's Villa, Villa d'Este and Tivoli. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was warm, sunny, and felt more like summer than spring. Our first stop was Hadrian's Villa, or Villa Adriana in Italian, which was almost like a mini Pompei with the ruins.

 I thought it would be more in tact than it was, but it was still very nice. This was one of the main pools, and it even had fish and turtles swimming around. 

This pool reminded me of the Getty Villa in LA! 

After a quick lunch break in Tivoli (where I had lunch with a really nice Australian high school teacher who was also traveling alone and a newly engaged couple) we headed to Villa d'Este. The Boboli Gardens in Florence are nothing compared to these. There were tulips in bloom everywhere...

And the fountains looked like something you would see in a Disney movie or a fairy tale.

Not to mention, the wisteria here is in full bloom now and it is beyond gorgeous (and smells amazing). 

This is just one of the many places in the gardens that had wisteria in bloom. 

This fountain was probably my favorite. The water was turquoise-green and unlike anything I've ever seen. With the huge waterfall, sculptures, and ivy growing everywhere, this is probably one of my top three things I've seen in Italy and possibly even in my life. 

These fountains went on endlessly (probably longer than the Washington Monument if you turned it on its side!!!) and had sculptures of eagles, and water coming out of lions' mouths.

We walked down a ton of stairs to the bottom of the Villa, which looked like this from the top level...

And like this from the bottom level.. At the structure at the very top there were organs playing in the middle of the fountain. So while we looked at the wisteria, fountains, gardens, and sculptures, the organs played beautiful music, which echoed. It was amazing. 

I was supposed to take a tour to Ostia tomorrow, but the tour ended up getting cancelled because not enough people signed up... Even though I can't go, I am so glad I came back to Rome to see Tivoli and Ostia just gives me another excuse to come back to Rome in the future! I'm going back to Florence in the late afternoon tomorrow, and then I have a final, a presentation, and then I'm coming home on Friday! It's incredible how I've been to Rome four times now and every time I come, there is still so much more to see. Besides horseback riding, this has been one of my favorite days during my time abroad. 

Ciao for now!

April 17

Today was pretty exciting. I think the picture below says it all...

Since Rome is my favorite city in Italy and it's my last weekend in Italy, I wanted to go back to Rome. I'm staying at the same hotel that my mom and I stayed at over spring break so all of the staff remembers me. I was pretty excited when I saw I had a huge bed... The first thing I did was nap!!!

For dinner, I went to my favorite restaurant called Papagiò, where the staff also remembered me and even remembered what I ordered last time. I'm on this trip alone, so I ended up studying for my ceramics final during dinner (yes, really). I started off with my fried artichoke and homemade potato chip appetizer, with complimentary prosecco and the San Gimignano Vernaccia wine. 

For my main course, I had white fish with potatoes and artichoke. Originally, this comes with zucchini instead of artichoke but the artichoke in Italy is amazing so I always get it instead of zucchini.

For dessert, I had a decaf cappuccino.

And to go along with that, I had white tiramisù in chocolate sauce.

I was in such a food coma when I got to the hotel (luckily it's only a few blocks away) so I ended up taking a bath and passed out. 

Ciao for now!

April 16

Today went by pretty quickly. I had ceramics in the afternoon, and all my glazed animals are now out of the kiln. So, they look like this now... super shiny!

My teacher moved my warthog on the table and it fell.... So now its tail is broken. Hopefully I can fix it with glue. I have my final and critique on Tuesday, so I'll be able to ship all my ceramics home next Wednesday. I was hoping to ship my things this Monday, but oh well. 

I had my last museology lecture tonight (thank god). I have never been so bored in a class. Tomorrow we are going on a field trip, next Thursday I'm giving my final presentation and next Friday I'm skipping class to fly back home haha. So after tomorrow, I won't have to listen to rambling! And to add to the excitement, I'll be going to Rome tomorrow for the weekend! Woohoo! It'll be an early and long day tomorrow so...

Ciao for now!

April 15

Today was a free day, since I'm all done with my sculpture class. I ran to Conad early in the morning, where I got the best crema croissant that I've ever had (even better than the ones I had when I studied abroad in Rome). It was a breakfast in bed kind of day! 

The bar across the street from me has been really loud recently so I spent the majority of the day sleeping because I'll probably be up all night tonight. But in two days time, I'll be in Rome! Tomorrow should be a good day, as my safari animals will probably be out of the kiln and finally 100% done, glaze and all. None of them broke in the kiln the first time around, so hopefully this firing goes smoothly. 

Ciao for now!

April 14

Today turned out to be much shorter than usual. In my cinema class, we watched La Grande Bellezza which is like a modern version of La Dolce Vita. Just like La Dolce Vita, I found it very boring because the movie followed the lives of some very wealthy people and almost all they do is party. 

Ceramics ended up being pretty short today since we are on our last project. My animals were fired in the kiln, as you can see below. If you look really closely (under the eyes of the elephants, on the foot of the rhino, and a few other places) I missed a few spots with the colored slip so the red fired clay is showing through. I can't fix it now, so it will just have to be like that. Anyways, I ended up glazing all of the animals within the first 15 minutes of class and then had nothing to do, so I was allowed to leave early. Hopefully this Thursday I'll have a critique on all of my pieces so that I can ship it all home. 

When I got home, I went on another one of my cleaning/packing sprees. I only have about a week and a half here so it's time to start wrapping everything up. 

Our water heater was finally fixed, so we have hot water again now, so that's nice. Sorry for the late entry but our internet was SO slow and nothing would load.... Yikes. 

Ciao for now!

April 13

Today my weekend getaway came to an end. It was hard to say goodbye to my hotel room when I had this view... 

A perfect reading spot!

And the hotel made the best cappuccino I've had since my study abroad in Rome.

And just like that, it was time to say goodbye to Hotel Settimo Cielo (which literally means "seventh heaven". Heaven it was indeed).

My train from Naples to Florence wasn't until 2pm, but with all the problems I had getting to Sorrento, I made sure to leave plenty of time. So, I left the hotel at 10:30 and hopped aboard an 11am train to Naples. Unlike the ride from Naples to Sorrento, each and every stop was announced so I didn't have to keep looking at the route map which was nice. I also talked with some nice American tourists so the trip went by pretty quickly. I could even see a few parts of Pompei from the train! Everything went according to plan, and I ended up having 2 hours in the Naples train station (yikes). I was a bit nervous because I've seen so many Italian mafia movies that take place in or near Naples, so I went to a cafe for lunch and ended up staying there for the wifi. 

When I boarded the train to Florence, I got one last look at Mt. Vesuvius from the window. 

Two and a half hours later, I arrived at the train station in Florence. I didn't feel like cooking and McDonald's was on the way home.... I'm sure you can guess the end of that sentence. 

I'm already missing Sorrento and the hotel... Not only is it already really noisy outside my bedroom window, I also tried to take a shower and the water was ice cold on the hottest setting. But, the good news is that this Friday (just four days from now!!!!) I'll be headed to Rome for the weekend where I'll visit Tivoli and Ostia! And the weekend after that? Well... It will be spent with my dogs and mom and friends and NON ITALIAN FOOD in LA! 

Ciao for now!

April 12

Today was very busy. I had signed up for a Viator tour of the Amalfi Coast, going through Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, Amalfi and some other smaller towns. However, I ended up being the only one on the tour so I got a private car and guide. Below is a picture of the coast taking from the winding roads... 

The weather was perfect... So warm that I was able to wear a tank top!

Positano was pretty much all closed because it was Sunday and people were in church or with their families, so we didn't stop anywhere. That was fine by me, though, because it didn't look as great as it did online. So instead we went straight to Ravello, where I visited the Villa Ruffolo (basically the equivalent of the Boboli Gardens here in Florence). A lot of the architecture on the Amalfi Coast is Baroque or influenced by Arabic architecture. There's a ton of these type of columns everywhere.

This area below was probably my favorite part of the gardens. A beautifully symmetrical garden on a balcony overlooking the Amalfi Coast. 

After Ravello, we started driving back along the Amalfi Coast and stopped in the town of Amalfi for lunch-- the heart of the Amalfi Coast. Since I was the only one on the tour, I ended up eating alone but I had a table right on the harbor so it was nice. I started off with a glass of prosecco.

The first course was a seafood pasta dish with crab and sea urchin. 

Then I had paranza, a typical Neopolitan dish. This is an assortment of fried shrimp, calamari, mullet and anchovies.  I also had a side salad with balsamic vinegar (because that's the only way they ever serve salad, or should I say lettuce, here in Italy).

In Southern Italy, Italians love cooking with lemon so for dessert I had a lemon delight which is basically a lemon sponge cake. It was pretty good. The caramel sauce decorating the plate was even better! 

After lunch, I walked around Amalfi more before heading back to the hotel. I went to bed extremely early because it was so quiet (unlike my apartment). I don't think I've ever slept so much. It was a fun day.

Ciao for now!

April 11

Today started off being a pretty good day. I woke up early, finished packing, went to the train station, got on a 2 1/2 hour train from Florence to Naples and looked at the beautiful Italian countryside. 

When I got to Naples, my day took a turn for the worse. I had read online that there's a train that goes from Naples to Sorrento. Well I think whoever came up with that needs to check their terminology because it was more like a metro. But to backtrack for a minute... None of the ticket machines said Sorrento so I thought maybe the station was called something else. I went to one ticket office where I was told they don't sell tickets to Sorrento so then I went across the way to another ticket office where I waited over an hour just to even speak to an employee. Long story short, that office didn't sell tickets to Sorrento either. So I went to the tourist information office and was redirected to yet another office where I ended up waiting nearly 20 minutes. When I finally got my ticket, I asked the worker where I should go and she didn't speak a word of English. Luckily I was able to understand her Italian and got on the right metro (which was late). 

From there, it was nearly 1 1/2 hours on the metro which was covered in graffiti, smelly and full of gypsies and children begging for money. But, I survived. It took me way longer than it should have (no thanks to the signage in the Napoli station.. I ended up having to go to another Napoli station to catch the metro) but I am finally in Sorrento. My water bottle also spilled in my bag so all my papers are wet along with my clothes... My clothes are now drying by a window. Yikes. 

Anyways, the hotel is pretty nice and I have a gorgeous view from my room. 

Here's a close up. 

I can even see Mt. Vesuvius from my room! So that's pretty cool.

I am exhausted so I'm going to crash now. I have to be up early for a tour of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello! In the meantime I'll be enjoying the big bed I have this weekend. 

Ciao for now! 

April 10

Today my museology class had a field trip to the Museo Novecento, one of the only modern art museums in Florence. The content of the museum itself was pretty weird and we ended up going over half an hour over so naturally I wasn't a fan. But, I saw this quote on the courtyard wall and liked it (probably my favorite part of the museum... Kind of sad). 

My other favorite part of the museum was the view of Piazza Santa Maria Novella, which is about a block and a half from my apartment. It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day today so a lot of people were out. 

After the field trip, I was craving some french fries so I finally caved in and went to McDonald's (don't judge me... I've done a pretty good job without American food and I never go to McDonald's at home). On the way, I decided to do a little shoe shopping. I only brought two pairs of shoes with me (nearly knee high boots and tennis shoes) and with how hot it's been getting during the day, I decided to buy a pair of sandals. These will be coming with me to the Amalfi coast this weekend!

I also had to do a little snack/junk food shopping for my weekend trip. I leave tomorrow morning for Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano and Ravello and the train ride is over three hours with transfers.... I'll need to munch!

At Conad I also found this... Coffee? Nope-- coffee ice cream in a plastic coffee mug. Pretty cute!

I did a lot of cleaning today (you should have seen all the dust under my bed... YUCK. The apartment must not have been cleaned before we arrived in January. Now I finally know why I've been sneezing so much). I still have a bit of work to do before my long journey tomorrow so...

Ciao for now!