Firenze!

BenaNotte! (its almost midnight here, 6pm for you all)

Sorry about missing the last three days, its been a bit hectic here at the Servi! So last time I blogged was monday at the casa I believe. So, tuesday was a bit boring just classes and what not. I love this trip but boy can the classes get a bit monotanous, we are in the same classroom from 8-3:30 with one lunch break and its all I can do to stay focused and not wander off! Anywho, tuesday a large group of fourteen of us went out to dinner at Restorantino Florentino (i think!) and I tried duck for the first time. Eh, not my fav and certainly not worth the eleven euro. So after I got espresso, and that made up for it. I also took out some money for our first excursion of the trip to Florence (I ended up not needing it at all but Id rather be safe than sorry). After that I packed and finished homework. Wednesday morning we only had one class (whoo hoo!) from 8:30 to 11:30 and then we broke for lunch and met back up at 12:15 to catch the bus from Sansepolcro to Arezzo to meet our train reservations. The bus ride was quite winedy so I fell asleep to avoid carsickness. After catching flies for an hour, Cathy woke me up by scaring the crud out of me and I was thoroughly embarassed that she saw me sleeping in a very ungraceful fashion (curled in a ball mouth wide open). After the bus we suited up and went to the trainstation. Cathy and Greg gave us the low down on the train system and tips/tricks to avoid catastrophe. We popped on the next train to Florence (firenze for you Italian speakers out there) and we were off! The train was wonderful and we slid the windows down, felt the breeze and caught some magnificent scenery on the way. Nikki, Spencer, Kiran, and I bopped to our ipods till we arrived about an hour later. So we arrived in Florence and got ready to go out there. Greg and Cathy put the fear of god in us so we all had our game faces on to dodge pickpocketers and gypsys. For me I locked all my large bag compartments and kept all the valuables to close to me in my purse. I also figured out a way to wear my purse under my backpack and then strap my backpack around my waist so that theifs would first have to unstrap me before getting my purse. I also carried all my big valuables in my handy dandy money belt (talk about uncomfortable) and an extra stash and my bag lock keys in a purse within my bra (thank you mom!). We than set out for the hour long walk to our hotel in Florence. I carefully took mental pictures of our route (which came in handy today) and we finally arrived at the hotel as hot, sweaty, and very unfriendly campers. After freshining up we walked downtown to see the piazza (think town square). BTW, ashley p. if you are reading this when we got to the Piazza Cathy and I belted out some Light in the Piazza just for you ;) I believe my exact words were, WERE ON VACATION!

In the piazza in downtown Florence there is a church called the Duomo. Its this super extravagent church that has a huge bell town and rounded ceiling. Ill include a pictureWe also passed the Uvitzie which is an art museum I went to today. After being shown the piazza we were released to do as we pleased so what did we do? Check out historical buildings you ask? WHY NO! we went shopping of course. I picked up some gifts for you lucky few ;) and got myself a t-shirt, leather bracelet, and a pashmina. We also stumbled into an H&M and I allowed myself a skirt since its been so unusually warm here and my poor black skirt is not going to make it at this rate. After finishing our barganing we headed back to the hotel and had a fabulous three course meal. The girls dragged me out and we found a local artistic type bar and gabbed for a bit. I unfortunately drank a small amount of beer made with corn (without knowing beforehand) and if any of you know me, I was punished for it all today. ù

So that brings us to today, I woke up very early and had breakfast before heading downtown again! This time the girls popped back into H&M for their purchases before we got in line to go inside the Duomo. The church was quite immense with this beautiful painting ceiling. Definetly, worth the wait. Some of the others in our group climbed the tower (something like 800 steps) and I decided I would sit that out. After peeping back into the market we had lunch, and met the rest of our group for our reservation at the Ufitizie museum. The museum is probably large enough that two days would be enough time to really take in everything, but we only had one so we crammed a whole museum into a little over two hours. The most well known painting that was housed there is "The birth of Venus" by Botticelli. Will include picture. Believe me it was even more than I could have imagined, and I was very dissapointed that pictures were forbidden anywhere in the museum. We also got to see some Rembrandts, DaVinci, and Michelangelo. It was gorgeous, but I was quite overwhelmed by the end of it. So after we finished it was 3:15 our time (9am yours) and we booked and I mean BOOKED it to the trainstation. Remember the hour long walk I memorized well we did a quasi version of it at 3:15 and got the train station and 3:40 (I called myself mother goose the whole way there leading people with the trusty help of my friend LO) We had just enough time to check in, get a drink, and carefully find and board our train for 4:08. The train ride was great. I fell asleep (mouth open again) and they all took pictures of me, I did some homework and we hopped on the 6:15 bus from Arezzo to Sansepolcro. Although we were the last group to get home besides the professors around 7:20ish, it meant we had the most time in the museum which I thought was important. All in all, it was a scary and exciting trip. It was also great practice for our next trip, next week to Sorrento, Pompei, and Roma (rome)! Anywhoo, this is way too long. Hopefully not too boring! I miss and think of you all everyday. Trying not to be homesick!

Ciao,

SB

Casa Buittoni!

Today was our excursion to Casa Buitoni and believe me it did not dissapoint! Casa Buitoni is actually the public relations center for the Nestle brand in Italy. I have decided that when and if I get married I will get married in Casa Buitoni and you will all be invited! The hike to the casa was very long and hot but well worth it! I will include a picture I found on the internet of it, since we arent allowed to publish photos of it, but I did take pictures to show you when I get home. Anyway, we had a tour of the home which included 8 bedrooms, a large experimental kitchen, and a bevy of conference rooms. After the tour the lead cook made us a wonderful lunch of chicken, potatos, pasta with asparagus, lima beans, pizza, salad, and gelato for dessert. After the food Spencer, Bria and I sang for the tour guides and our very attractive waiter ;) The walk home was equally as long and hot and to my dismay we still had 2 hours of class before we were let out for the day. The people at the servi served us a light dinner that I wasnt crazy about so I went to Pam and bought bread, honey, and butter for dinner which really hit the spot. After finishing homework, I wrote my journal entry for the night and decided to write you all a little blog. Hope your monday went well, enjoy the view of casa buitoni.

Love you all!

Ciao,

-SB

First Day of Classes

Ok, classes are way too early! We woke up this morning at 7:45 for breakfast and classes started at 8. I dont think I have woken up on a Sunday morning that early in months. Our first class was a crash course Italian taught by this citizen of Sansepolcro apply named, Sarah!. She taught us how to introduce ourselves, state our age, nationality, profession, and were we live. After that we had I.D.S class which is basically a class about Italy were we go on excursions, today we went to church in the large cathedral at the town square. First off, its a Catholic ceremony all in Italian which was hard to understand and nothing like the churches here. They have no daycare services so the children basically run-a-muck for a few hours and the parents chase them too and fro. This was great for us because I understood nothing of what the priest was saying but the children were sure entertaining to walk. The congregation was informal with people in jeans and they talked during the actual service. You are also allowed to stand and people stood in line to give confession during the actual service. After that, we headed back to the Servi and started our third and final class which for me is modern drama. We had an hour an a half of class and then broke for lunch. Lunch today was funny, the nice cooking ladies made me plain pasta but the girls didnt realize it was for me and ate it all before I got it :( The second course, however, I could eat which consisted of spinach, bread, pork, and the most amazing potatoes I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. I have also decided that a small glass of wine with lunch before class makes everything much more enjoyable. So we finished our last class and my other roommates and I went for a long nap. After waking up in the late afternoon I took a shower (this shower puts gigis old shower to shame, its saying a lot that I get claustrophobic in it) and we booked our two hotels for the Rome trip. We will be traveling Monday to Sorrento for two nights (staying in the Ostello le sirene di sorrento) and one night in rome (staying in the Hostel Alessandro Palace). Then we ate dinner at the fabulous pizza place we discovered yesterday, read our theatre assignment at the pub and finished the night with some gelatto. Spent more than I wanted probably 7 euro all together but oh well! Tomorrow we have some classes cancelled because we are making the trek to Casa Buttoni to check out their experimental kitchen and have lunch made for us by their top chefs. Some of the people in Sansepolcro have never even been invitied to this place so its a high honor for us to visit. They asked three of us to sing after lunch so will let you know how that goes. Anywhoo, hope everyone is enjoying my little updates. Love you all!
Ciao!
-SB

First Full Day

Today was our first full day here in Sansepolcro. We woke up a tad late (all alarms were set on military time so none of them went off at the right time) and went down for a breakfast of croissants and tea. After breakfast I took another cat nap and got ready for my day. Kiran and I went for a long walk with two other girls to explore more of Sansepolcro. This morning they had a big market were we got to look at clothing and handmade toys. After our walk we woke up our other two roomates and the three of us went on another exploration of the town. Lunch was delicious! We had white wine, polenta, salad, bread, meatballs, and french fries? hehe too funny. After lunch we had orientation on the back garden which overlooks at crossbow shooting range, so every now and then we got to hear them go off. After orientation we had a long walking tour and purchased our bus tickets for our excursion next week to Florence. I am a little nervous because it is suppose to be one of the more dangerous cities when it comes to pick pocketing but I am sure with caution it will be alright. Six of us girls also planned our long vacation next week to Rome, Sorrento, Pompei, and Capri. Its a lot to do in 4 days but we are hoping we can see everything. We have already found our hostel for rome which is ironically titled, The Beehive. After that, we went and got dinner, real italian pizza and sodas. It was amazing, best pizza I have ever had in my life. We also traveled to Angihari today and saw a religious concert put on by a church there. Although, it was quite long and I understood nothing it was a good time. We met a young girl there and I practiced my Italian and we actually had a pretty lengthy conversation forthe both of us knowing little of each others language. Our driver, Luca was nice enough to show us the city and bring us home to sansepolcro. Tomorrow is our first day of classes, they start at 8am (grr) so we will see how that goes! I also found postcards today so please comment me your address so I can send you some mail.
Hope all is well!
Ti amo
SB

Finally Arrived

Well we have arrived here in Sansepolcro, Italy. Forgive me if this entry is not the best spelled I am still getting use to this new keyboard they have here. So our flight from Rdu to NYC was pretty uneventful. It was however, the smallest plane I have been on, in a long time. It was a three seat width plane, and I had a seat all to myself on one side. We had a long layover in Nyc where we took in our last American food (thank you McDonalds and your wonderful chicken nuggets) and played uno and the game (curt I am not sure what the title of the name is) and I think we made some converts out of some of the girls on the trip. The plane from NYC to Rome was enourmous! And I ofcourse, got placed in the middle isle middle row (lucky me). The seats were pretty comfortable and the food good but between nerves, homework, and my body I just could not get any sleep! I think I got around 2 hours, we woke up and head a great breakfast before we landed in Roma. The airport in Rome was less frightening than I thought it would be, but passport check in was a big confusing nightmare. Thankfully, I was waived through and picked up my in-one-piece bag. We then chartered a bus to Sansepolcro, which was about a three hour ride. I wish I could say that I stayed up the whole time taking pictures and breathing in the sights that wizzed past us, but alas I was pooped and curled up into my two seats and fell asleep. I did however see the first half an hour of leg and man the scenery out here is more picturesque than I could have ever dreamed. The hills are large, the cars are small,and I fell in love within minutes. The town we are staying in is probably around the same size as Henderson and Oxford put together except much more beautiful (no offense! hehe) Each building has a beautiful large,thick front door and gorgeous wooden shutters. Every building is a different neutral tone with vines and flowers growing all around. We settled into the Servi which will be our home for the next month or so and I am living in a quad room with Me, Kiran S., Spencer P., and a girl named Kristin. They are all beautiful and I cannot wait to get to know each of them better. We had a light lunch and then did a walking tour of the town visiting the grocery store (apply entitled Pam dont worry I took a picture ;) After that we had dinner it was amazing three courses of Pesto pasta, chicken peas and salad, and a wonderful strawberry desert. Next six of us ladies went out and enjoyed our first gelato (mine was chocolate and coffee AMAZING!) After that we walked the town for an hour or so trying horribly to blend in with the Italian folk. Later we returned home and I wrote in my journal and finished homework. So far I have learned: Basta! (stop), Smetah deendespeerme (stop bothering me), Prego (welcome), escuzi (excuse me), Ciao (hello,goodbye), dazzo! (damn), gelato (yummy goodness) and various pick up lines! hehe. I am happy to be here and awaiting what tomorrow brings. Miss you all and look forward from you soon.

All my love! (ti amo!)
SB (mouse)

Day before the big leap

Welcome to my Blog!

So this will be my blog for my European adventures this summer in Italy, Switzerland, and London.  I leave tomorrow morning bright and early at 8:30 am with all my fellow angels.  Everyone keeps asking me if I am excited for my upcoming travels and I feel bad saying that I am more nervous than anything else.  I just hope I have all my ducks in line for the journey and I have packed enough supplies to last me two months.  I know I will be able to buy things while being abroad but I hope that I have taken care of all the vital essentials.  I cant seem to concretely express how I am feeling at the moment because I am such a jumble of emotions, insecurities, wishes, and goals for this trip.  On one hand I am petrified of leaving the home I have made in Raleigh for the last 3 years and venture into a land that I know little about with a language that I speak nothing of.  Part of me is pumped to see all these monuments and sights that I have only pictured in my mind or witnesses in books/television.  At the same time I hope I have prepared myself to walk into this situation and handle whatever is thrown at me in a safe manner.  I know this experience will change my life and I can't wait for the changes to come, I guess its just the fear of the unknown that is a tad unsettling ;)

Phew, ranting aside.  I am very excited for this new chapter in my book to begin.  

To all my friends and family that will be reading while I am gone, I just want you all to know how much I love and miss you and I will try my best to keep this blog up as periodically as I can.

I guess the next time you hear from me I will be in Italy (ack!)

Sara Cro.