Un Triste Addio

First off writing my blog while sitting in my room in America is not near as entertaining as when I wrote it in Italy.  I’m still getting used to being back in the states and quite frankly I hate it. HATE it. I realize I was only abroad for 5 weeks and in the grand scheme of things that wasn’t that long..but for me it was long enough to fall in love with such an amazing country and amazing people.

The last week kinda ran together but I definitely enjoyed every second of it.  We took one last trip to Florence..my favorite city.  It was such a relaxed field trip that basically just consisted of shopping. Perfect. On Friday, our Italian friend Ruben planned for us (me, Ariel, Kacey, and Lauren) to grill out at his house.  So after a trip to a grocery store to pick up the ingredients he drove us to his house about 10 minutes out of town.  His home was BEAUTIFUL and had the coolest view of Montepulciano.  He grilled us the best hamburgers I have ever had.  This was one of my favorite days of my trip.  Ruben is hilarious and I can’t even begin to explain it.  I videoed most of the day because we never stopped laughing.  We miss you Rube!

Making our pizzas at Pino's!

The trattoria treated us to a 5 course meal for our ‘final dinner’…it was delicious! After dinner the entire program met up at Il Sasso to watch our finished movie..awkward for me, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.  It  did feel good to see the finished product and knowing how hard we worked on everything finally paid off. Our last night at the Garden was one of the best..enough said.  Saturday we ate our last  lunch at Pino and Lena’s and they let us make our own pizzas. They are perfect.  The rest of the day was spent last minute shopping, taking pictures, and packing..I didn’t start packing until about 7 pm and we were leaving at midnight..it got a little stressflul.  We had our last visit with Pino and Leno at Bar Del Tribunale and which turned into a tearful goodbye.  Vito..sweet Vito..CRIED.  It's crazy to think a group of American kids could make a grown Italian man cry because he didnt want us to leave.  I miss them.  Right before we had to head to the buses I made one last stop to get some gelato..and to see gelato hottie haha..he knew I was leaving so my chocolate piccolo cone was free. :) Leaving Montepulciano was so extremely hard, I just wasn’t ready to come home.

Now that I’m home I realized how much 5 weeks in Montepulciano changed my life.  I feel like only the people that I went on the trip with can understand.  I learned so much in the past 5 weeks and I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am to my parents, family, friends, teachers, and everyone else I met on the trip.  I miss Monte so much.

Grilling out at Ruben's

  I miss the smells in the morning, the early morning walks to the bus before field trips, Margarita pizza, random classical music being played on the street, the people, the wine, the tiniest bathtub in the world, my twin bed, the hills, the boring museums, the people, the cappuccino, the task of finding a decent internet connection, gelato, gelato hottie, the staff at Trattoria, the Auto Grill, the “tourist”, the Garden, the people, the views, the vineyards, the cooling rain, Euros, the pigeons, the sound the ambulance makes, the clothes line..ugh and the people. I miss everything..even the things that drove me crazy while I was there.  I want to go back and I know one day I will..one day as in next year..hopefully. But I also know that it will never be the same.  I will never be there while I’m 21 with a group of college kids from Georgia who know how to party and study at the same time, with professors who have so much trust in their students and who care about the students as much as our parents or with people that I had never met until June 23^rd at the airport.  It will never be the same no matter what and I hate that.  Ugh.

More pictures:
Ciao Bella!- Italia I
Vivere il sogno- Italia II
La bella vita- Italia III
Tutte le cose belle hanno una fine- Italia IV

Movie: Foreign Affairs

This is Italy!

Ciao! I have less than a week until I head back to the states and even though I miss everyone so much..I really REALLY dread leaving Monte! This past week was so much fun and I am constantly trying to soak up every minute.  We visited Rome (again), a cute little town Orvieto, and went to Sorrento/Capri for the weekend.  Never in my life did I ever think I would say, “oh we just went to Capri for the weekend!”.

Monday July 18^th- While others had a test to take…my class took a hike to a beautiful church on the bottom outskirts of Montepulciano. We walked passed peach orchards, olive trees, and grape vineyards..it was so pretty.  I’ve become a professional hiking and stair climber thanks to this trip. 

Tuesday July 19^th- The field trip to Rome was the same ol’ thing just a different day.  You all know my feelings towards Rome.  But still I stared at the Coliseum and Trevi Fountain for at least 5 minutes straight because I knew that I wouldn’t see these monuments for a long time..if ever.  We did visit the Forum and went inside the Coliseum this time so that was really cool. 

Wednesday July 20^th- It really began to hit me today that we were leaving Montepulciano in a little less than a week and a half.  For my photography class Dr. Greer let us go off on our own and take pictures of anything we hadn’t already shot.  I walked up and down the corso trying to take good pictures but all I could think about is how much I was going to miss the streets, smells, people, and everything about this sweet city.  So I started snapping pictures of everything, because I never want to forget a single detail.  I ran into one of my friends Lauren who was also taking pictures and we just looked at each other and started to tear up.  We both felt the same way.  I’m sure Morgan and Allison felt the same way their last week in Monte but for everyone else I’m sure ya’ll just think I’m being dramatic haha.  The rest of the day was kinda gloomy for me because all I could think about was how much I DIDN’T want to leave and all the things I had to do before I left.  After my classes I was still depressed and had to force myself to embrace the time I had left.  So I went to a little store by my apartment and ordered some olives, cheese, and picked up a bottle of wine..talking in my newly learned Italian.  I felt like a local!



"ADPiZTAPhiMuADPiKappaZTA"
Top of the tower in Orvieto!



Captain Allessio



Thursday July 21^st- Field Trip day! We went to a little town near Monte called Orvieto.  It was a lot like Montepulciano but bigger.  We climbed yet another tower..visited one of my favorite churches, and did a little shopping.  Today was very relaxed and since only half the program came on the trip it was a much smaller group. We left from Orvieto to begin our journey to Sorrento where we were staying for the weekend.  Diaster. Our plans were to go from Orvieto>Napoli>Sorrento.  However, there was a train strike that started at 9pm, but it was still possible for us to get to Naples in time to catch a train to Sorrento..but of course this didn’t happen.  Our 4 hour train ride turned into about 7 and a half.  We got stuck in a tunnel..TUNNEL for about 45 minutes.  To make things worse this train had assigned seats in different cabins..so we were all separated accept for a couple who got to sit in the same cabin.  I ended up being at the end of the train car, by myself, with about 30 Albanians.  Shoot me.  After sitting patiently for about 30 minutes I got up to find the others.  The train was sooo crowded and it smelt like rotten trash.  We eventually got out of the tunnel only to be stuck on the tracks for TWO more hours!  At this point people got off the train and were just hanging out by the tracks.  We asked an Italian stallion what was going on and he replied, “This is Italy!” with a big grin on his face. We eventually made it to Naples, but after 9 so we couldn’t get a train to Sorrento.  About 2 and half hours later we get picked up by the hotel manager to take us to Sorrento…and arrived in Sorrento about 1 ½ hour later.  Passed out.  The next morning we woke with a hopeful attitude that our weekend getaway would turn out better than it began.  We eventually ended up in Capri..after missing a bus, getting off at the wrong stop, a ferry ride, and an overpriced lunch. Things definitely get better in Capri mostly thanks to Alessio.  Alessio was our “captain” for our private boat tour around the island.  Just me, Ariel, and Kacey and Alessio..tall, tan, twenty, and by far the hottest Italian man that I have seen thus far.  I love Capri.  The boat ride was on my top ten of most beautiful things I have seen in my life.  The grottos (caves), cliffs, water, YACHTS were all amazing.  We saw a yacht with a helicopter on it…a HELICOPTER.  The next time I go to Capri I’ll be on one of those yachts..with the Kardashians.

As always it felt good to get back home.  Monday we went to a wine tasting at a very modern winery in Montepulciano. I learned that the skin of the grapes are the most important thing to the wine making process.  Bet you didn’t know that. Monte is known for their wine..Vino Nobile is the best so I left the wine tasting a little tipsy with 2 bottles.  It was perfect.  We had another relaxed field trip in Sienna yesterday..I’m going to miss this place so much!

See ya’ll in less than a week! CiaoJ

Another week in paradise!

My classes are going great! I keep getting reminded how lucky I am when my roommates are studying for tests and I’m walking around Tuscany snapping pictures and filming in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  I’m definitely no professional when it comes to photography but with all the beautiful surroundings it isn’t that hard to take good pictures.  We are almost done filming for our movie in my film class..and I’m still as awkward as I was when I started but I’ve learned to embrace it haha..but now I know how movie stars feel when they don’t like watching their own movies.  When we go to edit clips I hate seeing myself on the computer… I look like such a dork! If you knew the plot ya'll would understand haha.  But I still can’t complain, because while I’m filming in cafes everyone else is taking notes on arts and politics.  After class I usually come home and lay by the window and read until dinner..sometimes nap.  Even when I’m not gallivanting around town or climbing towers I’m still having the time of my life. I’m living the dream. 

Tuesday July 12^th- We traveled to Assisi and visited some BEAUTIFUL churches.  Assisi is a very holy place in Italy and the town is so small and precious..a lot like MontyP.  I learned about St. Francis, who is the Saint of animals..I bought lots of St. Francis charms for all my pup friends back home to protect themJ.  I really enjoyed visiting all the churches and hearing all the history, it’s hard to describe unless you’re there but it’s fascinating.  I prayed kneeling next to nuns and monks in some of the largest churches in the world..how many college students can say that? I said a very special prayer for you Devan..love you! It was a very special experience for me.  I hiked to the top of the mountain where there was this old fort.  The view was incredible! I climbed to the top of the fort and got see Umbria’s beautiful mountains.  The views here never get old. Climbing the mountain was definitely worth it..ya’ll know I’m not much of a hiker..so I’ve been pretty proud of myself for my new found hiking skills.  The whole time I was thinking Jack and Drew would be so proud of me for climbing a mountain to visit a REAL fort..so they were my motivation. Haha.  The hike down I put in my iPod and I realized adding your own soundtrack with Italian mountains is heavenly.

Thursday July 14^th- Pisa!!!! I have been looking forward to going to Pisa since I found out I was coming to Italy.  I couldn’t wait to take a thousand obnoxious pictures in front of the leaning tower!  When we walked through the walls and saw all the churches and the tower it looked fake! Everything is so beautiful and authentic it just doesn’t look real.  The tower wasn’t as tall as I thought it would be but I was glad because climbing to the top wasn’t as bad as the Duomo in Florence.  However, climbing a spiral staircase that is narrow and that is at an angle can make you a little nauseous but once again the view at the top made it worth it.

Just about everyone on the trip went to Cinque Terra for the weekend. Prettiest beach on Earth.  We stayed in Riomaggiore in a little pink cottage at the TOP of the hill.  It was literally a pink princess cottage. Beds: pink, curtains: pink, table: pink, toilet: pink, everything was pink and accessorized with Disney Princess accents.  Beautiful. Friday we spent all day at the beach…I want to go back so bad!  I swam in the Mediterranean Sea, got a back massage on the pebbly beach of Monterosso and drank frozen drinks. My life is not real.  The little bar were we got our drinks played country music..it was hilarious!  The bartender LOVES George Strait and had his greatest hits playing all afternoon..he even had a picture of him and George hanging up on the wall. Priceless.

This past week has been one of my favorites.  Even during the day in MontyP I’m having the time of my life.  It makes me depressed to think that I only have 2 more weeks left in this wonderful town until I have to return to school and rush.  Even though I miss everyone so much..I don’t want to think about leaving here.  The days pass my so fast and the weeks are running together..just like Alison said they would.  I hope these next 2 weeks go by as slow as possible.

Love and Miss yall!

Ciao!

     

Rome if you want to...

Rome. I don’t really know where to begin. Honestly, it was not my favorite place..which I hate to say because it has so much history and it’s Italy’s capitol..but frankly, it’s too dang big, extremely hot, and smells like garbage.  Having said this, let me make it clear we still had fun..a lot of fun..because we bring the fun where ever we go.  Florence is still my fave.

So for me Rome started at the Coliseum, my film class’s first stop on our field trip.  We filmed one of the first scenes for our movie.  Haha I don’t know many actresses that can say they started their debut in Rome.  Too bad our nonexistent film crew and wardrobe stylists couldn’t make it..because it was hotter than hell and back sweat is not attractive..hopefully we can edit that out. Eeww.  We made our way to the Parthenon (which was built 27 years before Christ…ahhh so cool!) and filmed a couple shots there.  My favorite stop was the Trevi Fountain. I made a wish and threw my 2 euro coin in..it better come true.  We shot another scene there which was tough and awkward because it was so crowded and people kept staring..but that’s just something famous people like me have to deal with. Ha kidding.

Trevi Fountain!

Since our plans to meet up with Stacey, Nola, and Abbye in Spain fell through. SAD. We decided to stay in Rome for the weekend. This is where the adventure begins.  We take a cab ride from the train station (where our bus was parked) to our hostel…only to realize that the hostel was on the other side of the train station. Dumb Americano.  We soon realized that our sweet and quaint, historical but remodeled hostel Eden was in the ghetto of Rome, equipped with people lining the walkway that looked like they could kill you in 2 seconds.  We buzzed in and met the ‘manager’ (I guess) who had no idea of our reservation that we had made through hostel.com (I can’t wait to give a bad review for this website and hostel).  We were actually relieved that they didn’t have our reservation because we didn’t plan on staying there and we left as soon as we could say Ciao!.  I then called Moma (what else is a girl to do when she needs help??) to ask if she could get us room with her reward points.  After sitting in the train station..and Ariel getting in trouble by the hottest poliza that I have ever seen for sleeping on the floor…for an hour and a half Moma called me back with great news! We got a room at the Holiday Inn for Thursday and the Hilton for Friday.  High rollers.  We didn’t care that the hotel was on the outskirts of Rome we just couldn’t wait to shower in a normal shower and sleep in a normal bed.



At the Hard Rock with Ariel and Kacey!



That night we went to the Hard Rock Café Rome. AMERICAN FOOD!!!!! I hate to be that person who is like I miss America..because I really don’t that much. But I do miss a normal shower and American food..mainly sauce.  Us and the Hard Rock soon became the best of friends.  The 1 hour and 45 minute wait didn’t even matter because the bartenders were so awesome! A couple mojitos and chicken fingers (with bbq and honey mustard.. I was in Heaven!) later we left our favorite place in Rome.  We ended up going home earlier than planned Thursday night because we were so exhausted from the death marches around Italy’s hot capital.  The next day we woke refreshed after sleeping in very comfortable hotel beds. We checked out at the Holiday Inn and headed to McDonalds (my 4^th time since being in Italy..yes I am ashamed) but we do eat Italian food allll week so our weekends we try and revisit our American roots..I guarantee ya'll would too.  After lunch we went to the Panorama (“Ya’ll this is like Rome’s version of the Macy’s!” –Ariel).  It was nothing like a Macy’s more like a Wal-Mart.  But Kacey and Ariel had to buy new digital cams and we heard that the Panorama is where it’s at!  We got a cab to the Hilton by the airport, which was even further from the city center but once again..we were so glad not to be at Hostel Eden. 

Friday night..we went back to the Hard Rock (it was just sooo good Thursday night), and met up with some other girls from our program.  As soon as we walked in Eulan (our bartender friend from the night before) said he needed to talk to us.  We thought he was going to get on to us for not going to the bar he recommended the night before but instead he was like “you girls walked out on your tab last night.”  I WAS MORTIFIED! We opened a tab with my card and we were going to split it up at the end and when we told him to close it he handed us a receipt and my card back..I assumed this meant he ran it. But he didn’t! So all the bartenders thought we purposely left without paying our 65 euro tab.  We kept apologizing over and over and I handed him my card as quickly as I could.  He said, “your tab was 62?” I said “No! 65!” and he said, “No, don’t worry about it Ill just charge you guys 50 even!” How can people be so nice? So not only did we get free drinks the night before, we walked out on our tab and ended up paying 15 Euros less.  I love this place.  The Hard Rock showed a good time once again..especially Ariel who got to go behind the bar and make her own special drink..and Kacey who switched places with the waitress and took everyone’s order. The rest of the girls ended up not coming out with us because they had to get up early the next morning but that didn’t stop us.   We went to Compe de Foire, a little square that’s known for their (lower key) night life.  We stopped by the Drunken Ship, the place that Eulan recommended, and there were so many Americans there who were so obnoxious.  We left.  After roaming the streets a couple more hours we headed back to our comfy Hilton beds. 

The next morning we made our way back into town and found a Subway and literally inhaled some more Americanish food..even though it wasn’t exactly the same, it hit the spot.  Once we got to the train station we realized that our train would leave in 7 minutes and it was all the way on the other side of the station.  So we had to run…I don’t run..I was pissed.  We just barely make it..only to sit on the train for like 10 minutes before it started to move. I shouldn’t have ran.   The train was so hot we could hardly breath, after sitting stationary and sweating for about 20 minutes we overhead someone say the AC was broken on this car that we can move to another one. Thank God! We ended up in a closed in cabin, with our own private door and 6 seats..enough for us 3 to stretch out on.  We turned on the iPod and listened to country music while passing through the Italian countryside. 

I don’t think I’ll every voluntarily visit Rome again unless it’s to go back to the Hard Rock Café.

God Blessin' America Italian Style!

Fourth of July was in full force in MonteP! We bought Heinken mini kegs, sparklers, and watermelon from the Conad (grocery store) and put on our RED WHITE AND BLUE! Me and Ariel made jello shots out of SHEETS of gelatino.  It was quite the process but they turned out pretty good.  Everyone went down to the Garden and celebrated together.  Even Pino and Lina gave us a bottle of champagne.. “This is very important day for your country, so we want to help you celebrate!”.  They are the nicest people I have ever met.

Happy 4th!

Living the dream!

Italy just keeps getting better...but I just keep getting more and more exhausted! I can't complain though because I have the best classes so even though I'm super tired after weekend travels classes on Monday and Wednesday arent that bad. I'm taking a photography class and a film class...and I love both of them! My teacher is great and so laid back..we don't even meet at the school, we meet in cafes and parks! My film class is so much fun..we're actually filming a short movie and submitting it to a film festival! I think it's going to be really good and I think we have a good chance at winning. There are only four people in my film class so we are keeping the plot a secret so we can get everyone elses true reaction when it's done. But I'm the main female character..haha and it's a love story. I know what y'all are thinking..I'm the most awkward person ever but I'm trying hard to make it work! We begin filming tomorrow in Rome...no big deal!

Top of the Duomo..finally!

We went back to Florence yesterday for our field trip and it was so much fun. My class toured the Duomo and then we climbed the (approx.) 460+ stairs to the top. I know this may not seem like a lot but holy cow it was. The climb up wasnt as bad as I thought because we kept stopping at different levels but going back down was terrifying. The entire way up people were coming down and so we would have to stop..aka major traffic jam inside a narrow passage full of sweaty people. Literally half the staircase was spiral and the other part was basically vertical. But y'all know I was one proud American when I made it to the top. It wasn't on my bucket list but I decided to add it and mark it off.

After the Duomo we headed to a huge market where I bought some souvies! The inside market was crazy..meat, cheeses, and pastas everywhere! Including a couple of fully skinned chickens with their heads still attached. Vomit.

Once again, Florence didn't disappoint. We made it to the most famous gelato shop in all of Italy and I ate a pricey cup of goodness. Florence is probably been my fave so far. TOmorrow we are headed back to Rome and we plan to stay for the weekend. My life is a fantasy.

Ciao!

Florence 2, Us -2

It has been a little over a week since I have arrived in Italy and it already feels like I've been here for a month.  I hope the time continues to pass slowly so I can soak up every day!



Rome: In front of St. Peters



Tuesday June 28^th-  Rome for the day! We got to see The Vatican, Sistine Chapel (incredible..I wish pictures were allowed), and St. Peter’s Basilica.  Tuesday was a very long day, but completely worth it.  I got to see art that some people may never get to see in their life time.  I stared up at the Sistine Chapel for at least 10 minutes straight.  Absolutely incredible.

Thursday June 30^th- We traveled to Florence for our field trip.  

Florence

  We visited the Uffizi and Academia and they were amazing!  We saw the statue of David which was the coolest thing I have ever seen!! It blows my mind that someone could sculpt such a massive and detailed body out of a ginormous block of marble.  Photos were not allowed but of course I snuck a couple on my phone..front and back:) haha. Gross.. a bird just shit on my computer screen. BRB. ..Alright....anyways David was amazing and I feel so lucky that I got to see it! I bought a tiny version of him but soon realized it looks nothing like him...oops.



 

Duomo!



We planned to stay in Florence for the weekend so we headed back to the bus to get our things then got a cab to our hotel.  Hotel Donatello was so precious! And it had a full shower!!!!!!...and good pillows..I was sooo excited!! We all got ready which was a process since we only brought one converter and all 4 of us had to do our hair..but we finally made it and met up with more people at the Duomo (Dwamo).  The Duomo is the most massive church I have ever seen and even though it looks like it could use a good pressure washing it is absolutely beautiful.  We got drinks at an Irish pub called the Old Stove (Florence's version of Charley O's  RIP) and hung out in the square for a while then headed to a 'disco' Club 21...this is where Florence began to kick our butt.



Friday- We slept in till 4pm..don’t judge us. I told you Florence kicked our butt. We did a little shopping at H&M and then we got ready for our next night on the town...which also kicked our butt.



Phi Mu :)



Florence was so much fun..but a level of fun that I can only handle for a short amount of time.  Florencians (word?) party way harder than any college student could ever imagine.  They are PROfessionals.  I think we were all ready to come home to Montepulciano so we decided to skip the horse race in Sienna on Saturday and head back to Montep.  This ended up being better because we later heard that a horse had a heart attack and died!:(...I would have freaked out if I was there.  They are now looking into not doing it anymore because of animal rights. Good. It feels so good to be home…I love referring to Montepulciano as home. 

This trip keeps getting better and I cannot even began to express how thankful I am to my parents and family for sending me here and how much I appreciate everything my friends did for me before I left.  I am so extremely blessed. Miss and Love Ya’ll. Ciao!