Interlaken, Switzerland

This past weekend, Mary and I (impulsively) decided to go to Interlaken, Switzerland. I had never seen snow before so I was pretty excited for the whole thing. We took a long bus ride there and back. We got to Switzerland very late on Thursday night so we had all day Friday and Saturday to play in the snow.

Everything was obscenely expensive, which unfortunately made the weekend less fun as we couldn't really afford to do stuff like go skiing, sledding, etc...

We did take the train (actually, one bus and two trains) way up to Kleine Scheidegg though. It was super high up and filled with people skiing but we just went up for the breathtaking views. We also each had a delicious coffee (with Bailey's!) in a warm teepee and later we had a mediocre & overpriced lunch (vegetable soup).

At one point we also got to go to a free chocolate tasting at Swiss Chocolate Chalet. We both took 8957986778 pictures because it was so beautiful. We tried the traditional Swiss Rösti, which is basically hash browns with stuff like vegetables and/or meat mixed in.

So I'm bored of writing but perhaps I'll revisit this post to fill in a few details.

To see the full album of over 100 pics, check out the facebook album I just posted.

Siena

Throughout the semester, we have a few trips built into the program. Yesterday (Friday), we all went to Siena.

We took a bus out to the Tuscan hill town in the morning. It was very foggy out during the bus ride and it remained that way for a little while before the sun decided to grace us with its presence. It was chilly out (high of 54 degrees) but I love that weather.

Once in Siena, we got cappuccinos and then headed into town. Throughout the day, we checked out the Siena Cathedral, Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico, and the Cathedral of Siena. While in the Piazza del Campo, Sue (program director) told us about the famous horse race that is held twice a year. It was neat to see Lorenzetti's frescoes of good government and bad government after learning about it in Art History class (back in Tallahassee).

I can't recall the name of the restaurant at which we ate lunch but it was really a delightful meal. It was in a heated covered area outside so it was nice and warm but we still could enjoy a view of Siena. We drank Chianti. The first course was a delicious pici pasta. The waiter served the steaming pasta onto each of our plates. My second course (which was different that everyone else's because of my vegetarianism) was cooked vegetables (carrots, zucchini, potatoes, etc...) and spinach. We had an almond pastry dessert. It was nice and light and followed by a lovely little shot of espresso (with sugar, of course). Oh...and there was a liquor served with the dessert but I only tried it...I didn't really drink it. It was too sweet and strong for my taste.

After lunch and wine and espresso, we were all in a really happy mood. We took a bunch of pictures of each other in the Piazza del Campo.

We left Siena as it was getting dark. We were all exhausted and slept during most of the bus ride. The Siena day trip was definitely my favorite day so far. Siena is SO beautiful.

Wednesday

I brought my camera with me today and I did some wandering around during my lunch break, after having a cappuccino (the first of two I had today), of course.

Our apartment building is on one side of the Arno River and our study center (where we have class on Monday through Thursday) is on the other side of the river. The bridges are all gorgeous and we cross over the Ponte Vecchio every day. This picture above is one of the views from the Ponte Vecchio overlooking another bridge.

This photo is a result of having extra time on my hands to just look at everything leisurely.

And then of course, I had to return to the study center for Italian class. I ran into Caitlin, Gaby & Mary on Borgo degli Albizi (right outside of the study center).

This is my first gelato in Firenze. It was delicious...and pretty cheap! Mary had fragola (strawberry) gelato. It took us almost an entire week to finally try some gelato here!

First post in Florence!

After an exhausting day/night of traveling to Charlotte, Germany & Italy, I finally arrived in Florence on Friday evening (with BOTH bags in hand!). I've been here for four days already so I'm gonna break in down from what I can remember. We've been busy since we got here and it's sort of hard to remember everything clearly. I haven't been taking my camera everywhere but I will include a few pictures I have taken.

Friday:
Most of the day was spent in airports or in the air. I don't know what time we finally got to the apartment but it was probably something like 4ish. After doing some unpacking, our RA Dan took a bunch of us to Trattoria Anita. My first meal in Florence consisted of ravioli rosé. I've heard from several people that you can't really find a bad meal in Florence and I've found that to be very true. Everything is fresh and delicious and surprisingly affordable.

Saturday:
We all met up in the morning for orientation at the study center. Lunch was at the quaint sandwich shop part of Natalino. My sandwich had vegetables and fresh slices of pecorino cheese. I had my camera on me so I did snap a pic before digging in (see picture). Dinner was at the restaurant part of Natalino. Sue ordered for us (and treated us!). It was a three-course dinner. My main course was eggplant parmesan and it was one of the best things I've ever had.

Sunday:
We woke up early and took a bus through Tuscany to Fiesole. We saw the remaining parts of an ancient theater, baths, etc... Since Fiesole is so high up, we got to experience these incredible views of Florence. After returning to Florence we were all really hungry for so we went to Gusta Pizza for our first taste of real pizza. Then I came back and took an epic nap before we had dinner at Gustaosteria.

Monday: (today)
Today was the first day of class. After photography class, we ate an early lunch at Noe Sandwich Shop. They have these great omelette sandwiches. Also I learned today that even though Diet Coke is disgusting, Coca Cola Light (their version) is actually pretty good.