Italia Part Uno: Sprint Study Tour - Florence (2/13/15 - 2/17/15)
Salve!
Two of my classes this semester, ENG 225L (Italian literature, taught in English) and SOC 337L (sociology), travel for the class. ENG 225L is my sprint study tour course that went to Florence. We left last Friday and stayed until noon on Tuesday. SOC 337L is my study tour course and will be traveling to Slovenia in April for a little under a week (Tuesday to Sunday).
We flew from Luxembourg to Florence with a connection in Zurich on Friday, February 13th. Of course, while I was in Zurich I got Swiss chocolate (it was perfect). Our flight was delayed by about 45 minutes waiting for another connection. We made it to Florence that night around 7.
Our class stayed in the Casa Santo Nome di Gesu. It’s an ex-convent, so “interesting” would be a good word to describe it. But, it was in a very good location. The night we got there, we went to a little family owned restaurant. We had pasta (al dente and delicious) with tomato sauce and pork with rosemary potatoes. It was simple, but really good.
There wasn’t anything else scheduled for the night, so we walked around Florence. Originally, we were just looking around for gelato, but from the Arno River we could see the Duomo. We headed in that direction! The little streets and alleys are so adorable. We passed stores such as Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.
We finally reached the Duomo. My jaw dropped! It is so intricate and gorgeous. I now understand why Michelangelo said he could build something bigger but not more beautiful. It was benissimmo!
Our first full day in Florence, Valentine’s Day, started off with a tour from our guide, Lior. We saw the Duomo again. It was definitely different to see it in the day compared to the night before. You could see a lot more of the details. The inside is large with lots of space, not much in detail. We went to the Piazza della Signoria, which is home to the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio. There is a replica of Michelangelo’s David (because it is the original spot) and the Rape of the Sabine Women. After the tour, we had free time until a lecture later that night. Emily and I walked around quite a bit. I went to the Pitti Palace, which is huge! The outside isn’t intricate, quite simple actually. I got the ticket to see the royal bedrooms and art galleries. Those are a completely different story! They are extravagant! There was a room for the Grand Duke to meet with people, a room next to it for those that were very important that would meet with him, the next room for not so important, but still important people, then a room for commoners. All of the rooms had frescos, engravings, gold, and rich colors and paintings. The rest of it was gorgeous as well! The lecture we had that night was with two Miami alums who are writers living in Florence for a year because of the Fulbright Award. After the lecture, we went to get our first Italian pizzas at the Yellow Bar.
The next day, we had a short lecture by our guide about art history. We went to the Palazzo Davanzati and the Uffizi as a group. During free time, we went shopping! We went to an Italian department store, la Rinascente, vendors, and we walked in Dolce and Gabbana, Michael Kors, and Armani. We also went to a vintage store, Boutique Nadine, with Prada and Valentino and so much more! It was really fun! Later that night, we went to an Italian movie (it was actually a French movie translated into Italian). We left a little over half way through because it was too much work to try to translate it the whole time. But, it seemed really funny!
Our last full day in Florence, we had another quick lecture about periods in art history (Medieval, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque). Then we went to the Basilica di Santo Spirito and the Orsanmichele to “test our knowledge” in figuring out what periods certain paintings and statues were. (I know, this wasn’t an art history course. I actually wish we talked about the literature a little bit more.) We got lunch at the Clubhouse and I had homemade gnocchi with scampi (SO GOOD!). Then Alison and I wandered around. We had a lot of fun not having a plan. We saw the Basilica di San Lorenzo, a Medici church, with the tombs of Cosimo and Donatello. Later that night, we had a cooking class on how to make pizza, we were in teams and had a contest (our group won!). Then we walked to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo and saw the nighttime lights of Florence. The view was spectacular!
Our last day in Florence ended with a visit to the Galileo museum. We saw the only telescopes left that Galileo used. Before we left for the train station, we got sandwiches at a snack bar and ate lunch sitting on the edge of the Arno River with the sun shining. It was a beautiful day! We headed back to the hotel to get our backpacks and then went to the train station to go to Rome!
Two of my classes this semester, ENG 225L (Italian literature, taught in English) and SOC 337L (sociology), travel for the class. ENG 225L is my sprint study tour course that went to Florence. We left last Friday and stayed until noon on Tuesday. SOC 337L is my study tour course and will be traveling to Slovenia in April for a little under a week (Tuesday to Sunday).
We flew from Luxembourg to Florence with a connection in Zurich on Friday, February 13th. Of course, while I was in Zurich I got Swiss chocolate (it was perfect). Our flight was delayed by about 45 minutes waiting for another connection. We made it to Florence that night around 7.
Our class stayed in the Casa Santo Nome di Gesu. It’s an ex-convent, so “interesting” would be a good word to describe it. But, it was in a very good location. The night we got there, we went to a little family owned restaurant. We had pasta (al dente and delicious) with tomato sauce and pork with rosemary potatoes. It was simple, but really good.
There wasn’t anything else scheduled for the night, so we walked around Florence. Originally, we were just looking around for gelato, but from the Arno River we could see the Duomo. We headed in that direction! The little streets and alleys are so adorable. We passed stores such as Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.
We finally reached the Duomo. My jaw dropped! It is so intricate and gorgeous. I now understand why Michelangelo said he could build something bigger but not more beautiful. It was benissimmo!
Our first full day in Florence, Valentine’s Day, started off with a tour from our guide, Lior. We saw the Duomo again. It was definitely different to see it in the day compared to the night before. You could see a lot more of the details. The inside is large with lots of space, not much in detail. We went to the Piazza della Signoria, which is home to the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio. There is a replica of Michelangelo’s David (because it is the original spot) and the Rape of the Sabine Women. After the tour, we had free time until a lecture later that night. Emily and I walked around quite a bit. I went to the Pitti Palace, which is huge! The outside isn’t intricate, quite simple actually. I got the ticket to see the royal bedrooms and art galleries. Those are a completely different story! They are extravagant! There was a room for the Grand Duke to meet with people, a room next to it for those that were very important that would meet with him, the next room for not so important, but still important people, then a room for commoners. All of the rooms had frescos, engravings, gold, and rich colors and paintings. The rest of it was gorgeous as well! The lecture we had that night was with two Miami alums who are writers living in Florence for a year because of the Fulbright Award. After the lecture, we went to get our first Italian pizzas at the Yellow Bar.
The next day, we had a short lecture by our guide about art history. We went to the Palazzo Davanzati and the Uffizi as a group. During free time, we went shopping! We went to an Italian department store, la Rinascente, vendors, and we walked in Dolce and Gabbana, Michael Kors, and Armani. We also went to a vintage store, Boutique Nadine, with Prada and Valentino and so much more! It was really fun! Later that night, we went to an Italian movie (it was actually a French movie translated into Italian). We left a little over half way through because it was too much work to try to translate it the whole time. But, it seemed really funny!
Our last full day in Florence, we had another quick lecture about periods in art history (Medieval, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque). Then we went to the Basilica di Santo Spirito and the Orsanmichele to “test our knowledge” in figuring out what periods certain paintings and statues were. (I know, this wasn’t an art history course. I actually wish we talked about the literature a little bit more.) We got lunch at the Clubhouse and I had homemade gnocchi with scampi (SO GOOD!). Then Alison and I wandered around. We had a lot of fun not having a plan. We saw the Basilica di San Lorenzo, a Medici church, with the tombs of Cosimo and Donatello. Later that night, we had a cooking class on how to make pizza, we were in teams and had a contest (our group won!). Then we walked to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo and saw the nighttime lights of Florence. The view was spectacular!
Our last day in Florence ended with a visit to the Galileo museum. We saw the only telescopes left that Galileo used. Before we left for the train station, we got sandwiches at a snack bar and ate lunch sitting on the edge of the Arno River with the sun shining. It was a beautiful day! We headed back to the hotel to get our backpacks and then went to the train station to go to Rome!
Italia Part Due: Carnival Break – Rome, Pisa, Verona, Venice (2/17/15 – 2/22/15)
My first moments in Rome were interesting to say the least, meaning I got lost. Not just once, but multiple times. First, I walked out of the train station the wrong way. So I turned around and went back into the train station. Then I tried to take the subway to Piazza del Popolo because I had directions to the Airbnb that we stayed at from there and there was a parade for Carnevale going on. Since I got lost, I got there about 2 minutes after the parade ended. The directions I had to the Airbnb were not helpful and very confusing. I asked a police officer (using my Italian) where a certain street was and he sent me in the opposite direction (clarification: my Italian was good in this instance). Also, he should be fired for not helping the public that is in need properly. As I was looking at street names (frantically I might add), a gift from above appeared in the form of a taxi.
I made it to the Airbnb, which was literally 3 minutes from the Vatican. I had about 4 hours before Gabby, Emily, Katie showed up from Munich and Paris (so I had some time to kill). Casually I walked around and found a restaurant to eat at, visited the Vatican, and got some gelato.
The next day, Ash Wednesday, Gabby, Katie, and I went to the Vatican for the Pope’s blessing. Personally, I don’t know much about the Catholic religion. I have been following what the Pope has been saying in the news and I appreciate his views. Not being overly religious myself, I found it very interesting. There were so many people there from all over the world to listen to just one person speak about their beliefs. The amount of power that faith and hope can give to people is astounding. The Pope spoke in Italian and I believe Spanish, there were translations in German, English, French, Portuguese, and a couple more. People cheered and cried as the blessing was given. It was a memorable experience to be a part of.
After the blessing, we went all over Rome! We visited the Spanish Steps (from Roman Holiday!) and the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain was covered in scaffolding because it is under restoration (it will be finished in a month, of course). There was a “puddle” to throw coins in with a picture behind it. It was kind of neat though, because we got to walk on a bridge over what would be the fountain and get up close to the statues. From there, we walked to the Piazza de Venezia, the Forums, and the Colosseum. (This was my favorite area!) It was all amazing! We took a guided tour of the Colosseum, it was so cool! The maze like structure actually used to be “underground” because there used to be a “stage” over top of it. The Colosseum housed approx. 70,000! We sat by the Constantine Arch for a while and just took it all in. We were going to go to the Roman Forum but it was closed. We walked up the hill to the Church near by and took pictures. I had my phone through the fence and dropped it. It just slipped out of my hands. What occurred next was like in movies when something falls off a cliff and the character above (still on top of the cliff), yells “NOOOOOOOO!” Yeah, I did that and then I proceeded by just laughing at the situation. A man walked by, I got his attention, he grabbed my phone for me, I (tiredly and stupidly) suggested for him to throw it, but then better judgment occurred and I walked over the gate to meet him to get it. We then went back up the hill to visit the Church and I didn’t take any more pictures because with my luck I would definitely drop it again..
The next day, Gabby, Katie, Emily, and I went and stood in line for the Vatican Museum. The Vatican is literally a maze, I could have definitely gotten lost (again..). The main purpose for going was to see the Sistine Chapel. It was stunning! I think the ceiling was the most impressive for me, just thinking that Michelangelo laid on his back on top of scaffolding to paint all of that. We ate lunch at a restaurant, Zigaetana, and I had farfalle with tomato pesto and we split a marinara pizza. It was so goood. Later, we walked to the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. On our way back to the apartment, we walked over the Ponte Sant’Angelo and saw the Castel Sant’Angelo. Before we made it back to the apartment, we got dinner (I had a caprese pizza!) and stopped at a 24 hour bakery, Dolce Maniera, where we got cannolis!
The next morning was a rough one, I couldn’t sleep the night before and had to wake up by 4:30. I just ended up getting up at 4. When we got to the train station, we got on the wrong train at first, then ran to get on the other one, and MADE IT! To say the least, my day started off great. The reason why I got up so early was because we took a train to Pisa that left at 6.
Train travel is probably my favorite way to travel now. The Tuscan countryside is beautiful and I got to see so many vineyards and the sunrise over the mountains that morning!
Once we got to the station, we dropped our bags off and headed for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We took the typical tourist pictures (and it took quite a while just to get some good ones. The ratio was probably around 84398439 failed attempts to 1 good one. It was hilarious!) We walked around a little bit and then stopped at a little art café. Before coming back to the train station, we walked around a “farmers market” in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. It was a very short time in Pisa, but it was a perfect amount for what we planned.
After Pisa, we headed to Verona. Verona was adorable! It isn’t super touristy and it’s exactly what I think of for a little Italian town. Our Airbnb was in the perfect location and really pretty! We walked around and went to the Piazza Erbe. Then we went to Casa di Giulietta. (It wasn’t like the wall in Letters to Juliet but it was still cute.) Since we didn’t have anything else planned, we wandered around a little more and then went to dinner. I got eggplant parmesan and we split a margherita pizza at Il Boccodivino. It was the best meal I had in Italy.
The next morning, we left for Venice. We got off the train and the smell of sea water filled the air (I will have to live somewhere by the ocean when I’m older – it’s a necessity). As soon as we got out of the train station, I instantly knew that this would be one of my favorite places. All of the little alleys and canals made it even more charming. The only thing we decided we had to do was a gondola ride so we decided to walk around first until we found either a gondola or a store we wanted to go in. When we walked out of one of the stores, a gondola was right there! The man was wearing the outfit and everything. He was so nice! He had his boat docked off by a little bridge so he wasn’t part of a company or anything, it seemed very authentic. As he directed the boat through the tight spaces, under bridges and out into the Grand Canal, he whistled and sang. We passed other gondolas and they all seemed to know each other, as they had conversations in Italian. It was a cloudy day and to make it even more perfect the blue sky and sun started to break through. It was so much fun! After that, we walked around, found an amazing masquerade shop. We also got lost (just like you are supposed to in Venice)! We went back and got dinner at a restaurant near our hostel. We started with bellinis. I had spaghetti frutti di mare (pasta with tomato sauce and seafood). The pasta was really good, al dente! We ended with more bellinis at the end and got free limoncello. (Bellinis and limoncello are really gooood!) Venice was the perfect ending to a week in Italy!
All in all, Italy was amazing! I have most definitely fallen in love with it over the week. Even as we were coming back to Luxembourg, we passed Lake Como (GEORGE CLOONEY LIVES THERE) and it was gorgeous! The country just has so many different regions from the sea to the mountains to the plains. It truly is amazing and I would suggest it to anyone and everyone!
I made it to the Airbnb, which was literally 3 minutes from the Vatican. I had about 4 hours before Gabby, Emily, Katie showed up from Munich and Paris (so I had some time to kill). Casually I walked around and found a restaurant to eat at, visited the Vatican, and got some gelato.
The next day, Ash Wednesday, Gabby, Katie, and I went to the Vatican for the Pope’s blessing. Personally, I don’t know much about the Catholic religion. I have been following what the Pope has been saying in the news and I appreciate his views. Not being overly religious myself, I found it very interesting. There were so many people there from all over the world to listen to just one person speak about their beliefs. The amount of power that faith and hope can give to people is astounding. The Pope spoke in Italian and I believe Spanish, there were translations in German, English, French, Portuguese, and a couple more. People cheered and cried as the blessing was given. It was a memorable experience to be a part of.
After the blessing, we went all over Rome! We visited the Spanish Steps (from Roman Holiday!) and the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain was covered in scaffolding because it is under restoration (it will be finished in a month, of course). There was a “puddle” to throw coins in with a picture behind it. It was kind of neat though, because we got to walk on a bridge over what would be the fountain and get up close to the statues. From there, we walked to the Piazza de Venezia, the Forums, and the Colosseum. (This was my favorite area!) It was all amazing! We took a guided tour of the Colosseum, it was so cool! The maze like structure actually used to be “underground” because there used to be a “stage” over top of it. The Colosseum housed approx. 70,000! We sat by the Constantine Arch for a while and just took it all in. We were going to go to the Roman Forum but it was closed. We walked up the hill to the Church near by and took pictures. I had my phone through the fence and dropped it. It just slipped out of my hands. What occurred next was like in movies when something falls off a cliff and the character above (still on top of the cliff), yells “NOOOOOOOO!” Yeah, I did that and then I proceeded by just laughing at the situation. A man walked by, I got his attention, he grabbed my phone for me, I (tiredly and stupidly) suggested for him to throw it, but then better judgment occurred and I walked over the gate to meet him to get it. We then went back up the hill to visit the Church and I didn’t take any more pictures because with my luck I would definitely drop it again..
The next day, Gabby, Katie, Emily, and I went and stood in line for the Vatican Museum. The Vatican is literally a maze, I could have definitely gotten lost (again..). The main purpose for going was to see the Sistine Chapel. It was stunning! I think the ceiling was the most impressive for me, just thinking that Michelangelo laid on his back on top of scaffolding to paint all of that. We ate lunch at a restaurant, Zigaetana, and I had farfalle with tomato pesto and we split a marinara pizza. It was so goood. Later, we walked to the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. On our way back to the apartment, we walked over the Ponte Sant’Angelo and saw the Castel Sant’Angelo. Before we made it back to the apartment, we got dinner (I had a caprese pizza!) and stopped at a 24 hour bakery, Dolce Maniera, where we got cannolis!
The next morning was a rough one, I couldn’t sleep the night before and had to wake up by 4:30. I just ended up getting up at 4. When we got to the train station, we got on the wrong train at first, then ran to get on the other one, and MADE IT! To say the least, my day started off great. The reason why I got up so early was because we took a train to Pisa that left at 6.
Train travel is probably my favorite way to travel now. The Tuscan countryside is beautiful and I got to see so many vineyards and the sunrise over the mountains that morning!
Once we got to the station, we dropped our bags off and headed for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We took the typical tourist pictures (and it took quite a while just to get some good ones. The ratio was probably around 84398439 failed attempts to 1 good one. It was hilarious!) We walked around a little bit and then stopped at a little art café. Before coming back to the train station, we walked around a “farmers market” in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. It was a very short time in Pisa, but it was a perfect amount for what we planned.
After Pisa, we headed to Verona. Verona was adorable! It isn’t super touristy and it’s exactly what I think of for a little Italian town. Our Airbnb was in the perfect location and really pretty! We walked around and went to the Piazza Erbe. Then we went to Casa di Giulietta. (It wasn’t like the wall in Letters to Juliet but it was still cute.) Since we didn’t have anything else planned, we wandered around a little more and then went to dinner. I got eggplant parmesan and we split a margherita pizza at Il Boccodivino. It was the best meal I had in Italy.
The next morning, we left for Venice. We got off the train and the smell of sea water filled the air (I will have to live somewhere by the ocean when I’m older – it’s a necessity). As soon as we got out of the train station, I instantly knew that this would be one of my favorite places. All of the little alleys and canals made it even more charming. The only thing we decided we had to do was a gondola ride so we decided to walk around first until we found either a gondola or a store we wanted to go in. When we walked out of one of the stores, a gondola was right there! The man was wearing the outfit and everything. He was so nice! He had his boat docked off by a little bridge so he wasn’t part of a company or anything, it seemed very authentic. As he directed the boat through the tight spaces, under bridges and out into the Grand Canal, he whistled and sang. We passed other gondolas and they all seemed to know each other, as they had conversations in Italian. It was a cloudy day and to make it even more perfect the blue sky and sun started to break through. It was so much fun! After that, we walked around, found an amazing masquerade shop. We also got lost (just like you are supposed to in Venice)! We went back and got dinner at a restaurant near our hostel. We started with bellinis. I had spaghetti frutti di mare (pasta with tomato sauce and seafood). The pasta was really good, al dente! We ended with more bellinis at the end and got free limoncello. (Bellinis and limoncello are really gooood!) Venice was the perfect ending to a week in Italy!
All in all, Italy was amazing! I have most definitely fallen in love with it over the week. Even as we were coming back to Luxembourg, we passed Lake Como (GEORGE CLOONEY LIVES THERE) and it was gorgeous! The country just has so many different regions from the sea to the mountains to the plains. It truly is amazing and I would suggest it to anyone and everyone!
Ciao,
Kirsten
Kirsten