Verona!

So Kassie and I have begun our free weekend adventure to Verona and Venice! Yesterday afternoon we hopped on a train and made our way to Verona, the city of love.  I somehow managed to book us an amazing hotel for fairly cheap, which was very close to the city center of Verona. Verona is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! There were parks and fountains everywhere, and the sidewalks were made of some type of polished stone or marble.

After we checked into the hotel we went straight to la Casa di Giulietta, the house of Juliet Capulet from Romeo and Juliet. It was actually really cool.  Me and Kassie took pictures standing on the infamous balcony, as well as taking pictures while we touched the boob of the statue of Juliet. We’re not really quite sure what the purpose of touching the boob is, but it seemed like the thing to do, since everyone else in the courtyard was doing it. 

 We did end up getting kicked out of the house though, because the old security lady (who didn’t speak English) said we were a danger to security because we came in and out to take the balcony pictures. We quickly decided that she was a bitch.

After roaming around Verona a bit (we saw the Arena di Verona and some really beautiful streets), we went to Piazza Erbe to eat dinner. We managed to catch the end of the first FIFA World Cup 2010 game (Mexico vs South Africa, ended in a tie 1-1). We ordered a bottle of wine and Spaghetti di Ragù, which was delicious and made us feel super classy. 

We picked up a bottle of vine and various snacks on the way home and just hung out in the hotel room watching American tv shows dubbed in Italian. They watch Jersey Shore here. Just saying. 

The next morning we wrote and sent letters to Juliet and then hopped on a train to Venice.

To be continued….

Pisa e Assisi

So this past weekend I went to Pisa for a day with Nicole, Michelle, Jill, and Aury to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa….which is about the only thing there is to do there. It’s really entertaining though because while we waited for our turn to climb up the tower (which is crazy scary by the way) we took typical Pisa pictures; holding up the tower, pushing it over, and of course (because of Nicole and Michelle) we took the obligatory jumping pictures. The funny part though is watching everyone take the Pisa pictures. There’s just a huge piazza full of people with one arm awkwardly in the air. 

After we climbed the tower, we bought champagne and went down to the beach to watch the sunset. It was amazing! The beaches here are so weird because instead of sand there were slabs of marble piled on top of each other. It was bizarre. Well, we got so distracted from the sunset that we missed our bus by two minutes, which meant we missed our train. So we had to wait for an hour for the last bus back to Pisa. Well at least we found a really cute bar/gelato shop with a bartender named Rico, who gave me a very potent capirinha.

The next day we went to Assisi with the whole group. Assisi is beautiful….and I met a FRIAR! Like Friar Tuck from Robin Hood! It was amazing. And to make things even better we had a five course meal at a convent….scary nuns included.

Last night we went to an awesome club called Twice and it ended up being a crazy night.

So that’s what you missed :)

Now more than ever do I realize that I shall never be content with a sedentary life,
and that I shall always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.

—Isabelle Eberhardt

Cinqueterre! (In between terres)

Cinqueterre! (In between terres)

Rain.

So, it has been pouring for about two days now. And not the nice, warm, southern rain that I’m used to, but freezing cold rain. In JUNE. What is that about??? And of course I don’t have a dryer in the apartment, because that would be useful. Which leads me to the things I miss having and take advantage of in the US:

-A dryer.

-A microwave

-Unlimited text messaging (or even a regular plan, one that doesn’t cost me an arm   and a leg)

-INTERNET!! (I hate being limited to hours when no one at home is awake)

I may not have gone where I intended to go,
but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.

—Douglas Adams

Firenze con Amanda!!!!

So today I’ll be adventuring around the city again with Amanda and Stephen. I’m super excited! I feel like such a tour guide when I go out with them, which is kind of fun. I don’t know exactly what is on the agenda today, but this morning we actually slept in which was a nice change….well as long as the construction workers would let us. They are getting quite annoying.

But me and Kassie had a really nice brunch at Ganzo, the student run restaurant at FUA, which came with desert and internet! All in all very exciting stuff.  :)

NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY