Tuscan Weekend Sept 16-18

Through my program there are several included trips, some day long ones and one weekend long excursion. The trip was from Friday through Sunday.
Friday we left the city, heading toward the coast to see the city of Tolemea. This was the most adorable fishing town. The old city walls still stand from when it was a castle that stood on the rocky peninsula. The water is sparkling on three sides, the sun shines brightly and the breeze blows coolly. Set in a Mediterranean bay, the town now holds boats, ranging from not so expensive to so very expensive. The higher paths offered a breath taking view and down below there are some majestic trails along the water. It is not a large town, but it has character and so much charm. For dinner we ate at the hotel, a five course meal. The first was brushetta, followed by pea soup which wasn't too bad. Next was tortellini in a seafood sauce, followed by a fish dish, ending with tirimisu. It wasn't my favorite meal, too much fish for my tastes. However it was nice to have local food.
Saturday we drove to a sea side village where old tombs had been discovered from different eras. They ranged from age and size depending on how much money a family had. The largest was over ten meters long. We were able to go inside, however the lights didn't work so what we saw would be what they saw when ever putting a body in, darkness. We did get to peak with a flashlight though. The rest of the day was spent at the beach, which was a bit too long. But the weather was nice and the water was perfect for swimming. For dinner that night we had the same meal, but at a lesser quality of the night before. It was disappointing at least and gelato was necessary afterward.
Sunday was reserved for a horse show. On the way there the bus driver got lost and we found ourselves on a dirt road. Dirt roads are not very big nor are they meant for tour buses. To say the least it was interesting. Once at the organic farm, we watch a show that displayed how the cows were captured one by one in order to be branded. The cowboys also taught some people to lasso. Although it wasn't a horse show, it was still interesting. Afterward there was a wonderful dinner (including no beef). The starter was a cheese with balsamic viniger and olive oil. Next came a wonderful serving of turkey and potatoes, Finishing with a cookie dessert. Throughout the whole meal we had our share of wine and delicious bread. This was hands down the best meal of the trip.

Il Duomo- The Cathedral of Firenze

The Duomo is kind of the center of the city. I use it as my land mark no matter where I am going since it is visible from most of the city. It is a massive structure that consist of three buildings total. There is the cathedral, the tower and the baptistery. All three were redone when Firenze was the capital of Italy in 1865. Along with the Duomo, many other churches received face lifts. The Duomo is covered in marble, three colors. Red, white and green representing the colors of Italy. The majority of it is white, the most common stone. There is the least amount of red as it is the most rare. All of the stones are harvested from Tuscany. It truly is a beautiful structure.

In order to get into the church for free, I attended the Saturday mass. If you want to climb up into the dome, then it costs 8 euro. The mass was held on one of the side alters, that is off of the main alter. I felt like my head was on a swivel. There was so much detail to look at and admire. I plan to return until I have had my fill of the gorgeous building.

Cioa Italia!

I have finally made it! And the trip here was long. It feels like every time I travel what can go wrong happens to me. NYC was a hot mess after our little tropical storm over the weekend, so I was late getting into the airport. And the airport was having its own issues with all the flights that got changed. However I did make it through even though I was not calm by the time I got to my gate. Once boarded I am saying final farewells before the no more cell phone phase starts, and the goodbyes lasted long then expected. I am pretty sure my mom got at least four, every time I thought we were leaving... and then we wouldn't. In the end we took off an hour and a half late. My connection in Rome was an hour and a half after the original landing time. Thankfully there were at least 20 other students on the connecting flight so the airline made sure we got on it. Both flights were pleasant. On the first flight I met a very pleasant Italian women who was in the process of moving from Rome to NYC with her fiance ( her wedding was that coming weekend!). She was so nice to me, using her Italian to ask the flight attendants about my connecting flight and even walking with me in the Rome air port to catch the flight. This is Rome, not that you can tell.
I land in Florence almost two hours late. Alitalia lost almost twenty people laugage, and some of these girls had four bags so I didn't exactly feel bad. So I wait in line and give them information to send it to my apartment (this ended up being wrong but that was a later issue). So I make it to my apartment at 3 pm and I could not get in. My keys do not look like US keys and it didn't help that I was on the wrong floor. The way the floor counting works here is that the floor that is on the street level is 0 then going up, but I didn't know that yet. Luckily my roommates were home and let me in.
So I am in my apartment and this long long day has just happened. The obvious next thing to do is to get Gelato! And let me tell you it was fantastic. Walking this city is one of my favorite things to do. There is so much charm and charisma. My next post will have more happy details I promise!

Growing up

This seems to happen to me more and more often, I feel old. Now this is rubbish since I am still obviously young, a child, but for some reason I keep finding myself doing adult things. I do not me inappropriate things, but the mature right thing, without guidance from a parent or teacher. The most recent action that made me feel aged was to take the GRE. Only people further in life take those. In actuality I am at the perfect point in life to take these. I am a senior in college, with the desire to continue my education. But see that is where the problem lies: I am a senior in college. When did that happen?

As a child I always was looking for the next big thing to come (usually summer or the weekend) and then I got to highschool and I would look forward to things like a trip to visit family or the holidays. And the big events of life started to happen; I got my licens and I went to prom, then off to college. And for most of my life that is where the imagining stopped. I always just wanted to get to college. Well now I have been here a few years and I only have one left. What then?

This is a problem for me. I took 4 years and many campus tours before settling on the right one for me. This time around I have about 5 months, 4 of which I will be Italy for (YAY!) to figure out what school best fits my personality and career goals. I am at loss as what to do. Most of my friends are a year behind me ( a downside to graduating early). So they have little advice. My advisors are not worth talking to as they have failed me at every point of my education. And my mother only has a limited knowledge of the subject. Since I am so busy trying to prepare for 4 months abroad, I have not had enough to devote to the topic. So for now my mantra is that things will work out. And I am scared to death that they wont. But to everyone else I am trying to look like I have it together, because that is the only choice I have.

If anyone has advice on:

• How to not grow up
• How to pick the right grad school
• How to land free school
• Or how to not go broke in Italy

Please let me know because I could use the advice!

Congratulation Mary and Eric

My brother Eric and Mary have been dating for around 6 years now. Just recently they got engaged. They went to Vegas for a medical conference that Mary was attending. At the Bellagio , in front of the water show, Eric got on one knee and proposed. And well, of course she said yes. I am very happy for them and know that they will have a happy life together.

I can't wait until next fall when I can celebrate with both of you. And thank you Mary for having me as a brides maid. I am truly honored!

White Water Rafting

For my birthday I wanted to do something exciting with my friends. The idea came from a coupon book that I have. It has a buy one ride and receive the next free. We didn't end up going to that one, but it was a good idea anyway!
We went to the Black River in Watertown, NY. We were told that the rapids were going to be a slight 5 (out of a possible 7), because of the constant rain this spring. The water was super cold but the air and the sun were nice.
Sadly we only lost one person the whole ride. It of course was the one person who was worried about falling out. After the ride there was a bbq with some delicious food.
All together it made for an amazing day!

Getting Ready

There is a few months before I leave for Italy, however I must start getting ready. One of the most important things that I need to do is get a visa. I will need a Scheun Visa as I am a student stay between 90-360 days. And the first step to being eligible is to have a plain ticket.

It is hard to know when the best time to buy is. About 6-8 weeks before departure is generally best, however there are a lot of other factors that come into play. For me the fact that I am staying in Italy so long has an affect on the price. In gener
al though there are many reason that the 6-8 week window will not work . Gas prices have a huge impact on the prices of tickets. If the prices jump the so will ticket prices.

The best way to navigate these waters is to keep a close eye on prices. As soon as dates are set, look up prices on a few different sites. Never trust that what you are looking at is the lowest price. There are a lot of different sites that work different ways that may be able to offer a better fare. Once you have a range of what the price looks like now, follow the movement of prices are time passes. If they start to rise then it may be an indicator that you should but. If they start to fall that could mean hold off. There is no guarantee on a price while shopping for air fare.

For students and professors, there is a web site out there that often has lower prices. Student Universe.com for the most part has better prices for students. They also have hotels, rail and trips available. Even though it is generally cheaper, they are not always at the best time, and are not always the best value. Be sure to shop around and be knowledgeable about what the average is. If you do this then you are on your way to finding a cheap flight.