Well, this pretty much wraps up my blogging experiment. I hope you all enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have been back in the US for three days, and my body has finally realized how exhausted it is. If there is one thing I learned from my trip (though I am sure I have learned many more things), it's that no matter how tired you are, even if you sit down and think it's impossible for you to stand up without falling over, you are able to keep going. I think that sums up my last four days in Europe pretty well.
Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it, especially since this means I won't have to recount my adventures in person over and over again, instead I can just hand out links to this blog. All my pictures are up on Facebook, so check those out if you haven't yet.
It was a crazy, exhausting, exhilarating, educational, stressful, amazing six weeks and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go, so thanks Mom and Dad and U of A for that.
As far as what I learned about myself, that remains to be seen--I think it's something I will come to see over time. For now, I'm just proud I got myself there and back without any major problems, and I'm happy to be home and finally have some time to relax!
So until my next adventure: arrivederci, au revoir, and goodbye.
Grazie (thank you) for reading!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
London Calling
After a quick 2 1/2 hour train ride through the chunnel, we arrived in London! My immediate reaction to the place was to almost start crying of joy because all the signs were in English! And everyone spoke English! It was a beautiful thing after over 5 weeks of stumbling through the language barrier. Another first impression, which was proven to be true, was that English people are much nicer than pretty much any other nationality. They are very polite and actually stop to make sure you're ok after you and your friend fall down the escalator...Should I explain? Michelle and I were beyond exhausted by the time we arrived at London St. Pancras Station and walked over to the Tube station. Michelle's suitcase was broken and heavy and as we were descending on the escalator into the tube station, it knocked Michelle over, which also made me fall as I was behind her. I think it probably would have been embarrassing if I was actually awake enough to register what happened.
Our hotel was in Westminster, a quick tube ride away. I noticed immediately how lovely London is. It is a city, but unlike Paris or any of the Italian cities, it was very nice, not too overcrowded, not too industrial and not too many tall, intense buildings--at least in Westminster. Originally, our plan was to stay with our friend Emily who is studying in London, but her dorm doesn't allow overnight visitors so my mom had to book a hotel for us last minute, and man, she did well. It was super nice, especially considering where we had been staying before, and it was really hard not to just stay in our nice big, two double beds instead of venturing outside.
After resting up a bit, we headed to a nearby pub for dinner. I have to say I felt really, really, really cool sitting in an English pub eating fish and chips. Later, we met up with Emily and went to another pub where we drank really bad beer...but it was still cool, because it was in an English pub.
Now, disclaimer, before I go on: I absolutely LOVED London. So this blog might be excessive just because my love for it is undying. I know I was only there for two days, but I have wanted to go to London for as long as I can remember and it definitely did not disappoint. So bear with me here.
The next morning, after a beautiful night's sleep in my first comfortable bed of Europe, Michelle and I went and had an authentic English breakfast complete with baked beans, which I thought was weird at first, but actually made sense. Then we walked to Hyde Park, which is beyond gorgeous, and just sat there for a little while.
Our hotel was about two blocks from Buckingham Palace so we had to walk past it on our way to meet Emily at Westminster Abbey. It is a gorgeous, gorgeous place but a lot smaller in person. It was surreal to be standing in front of such a monumental building and think about all the things that have happened there, and all the public appearances that happened on that balcony. It was also the day of the Queen's first Garden Party, so I saw a lot of women in those iconic British hats walking around. I was trying to brainstorm how I could get in, but then remembered that I wasn't dressed for the occasion.
As you can tell by the picture, we had much better weather in London than Paris. It was cool and cloudy both days.
After marveling at the Palace, we walked to Westminster Abbey and met up with Emily who is a Royal Wedding/Royal Family nut just like me so we were way too excited to go inside. As an Episcopalian, it was nice to finally go inside an important church that wasn't Catholic. The church itself was stunning and very architecturally amazing.
Once we got inside, we couldn't take pictures but it was so surreal to be standing in literally the exact same spot as so many royals especially William and Kate had been standing just two months before. We had hoped to reenact the wedding, or at least walk down the aisle to see how long it took (Emily and I watched it together and commented that it seemed like Kate had to walk a mile before she got to the alter), but unfortunately parts of it were blocked off so we did the best we could. In all the Royal Wedding excitement, I forgot about the historical importance of the Abbey and that it was full of tombs. I didn't recognize many of the names, but Queen Elizabeth I and her sister, Queen Mary are both buried there. It was cool and extremely creepy to be standing in front of the tomb knowing that Queen Elizabeth I's body was inside. Another cool part about the Abbey was that we saw the coronation chair where all the monarchs have been crowned since Edward II in 1308! It looked old, understandably. Walking outside the front doors of Westminster was also exciting because we got to see the same view the Royal couple saw as they exited the church. However, they were led to a horse-drawn royal carriage and we were directed to the gift shop.
Once we were done marveling at the abbey, we walked down to the Trafalgar Square area where we had another pub lunch and then walked along the Thames embankment a bit and saw the Houses of Parliament and the Clock Tower where Big Ben is (fun fact: the bell is named Big Ben, not the tower, thanks Emily!).
Then we wanted to go to Top Shop, a British store like Forever 21 (but on crack), but it was a ways away in Oxford Circle so we decided to take a double decker bus! (well, I decided. Michelle wanted to walk and Emily wanted to take the tube, but I insisted because they are just so cool).
Top Shop was very cool, but it was also crowded and I was exhausted, and out of money so I was happy to leave. We walked back to Hyde Park (by the way, I was totally pro at navigating London) and had some ice cream and then walked to yet another pub where Emily and I tried Pimms, which is a classic London pub drink.
It was around 10 pm and were exhausted when we finally, sadly said goodbye to Emily and took a cab to our hotel at Heathrow Airport. On the way we saw the neighborhoods of Kensington and Chelsea which are super posh areas of London that I will definitely visit or live in when I am extraordinarily wealthy. Actually, I need to go back to London someday anyway because there are still many things I would like to see. Plus, it's just a fantastic city and probably the only place I visited that I would return to long-term.
The last little blip in our travels occurred when the cab driver dropped us of at the Holiday Inn. Upon trying to check in, I learned that there are THREE Holiday Inns around Heathrow, so we had to take another cab to the correct hotel. After a too short night's sleep, we headed to the airport via the Hotel Hoppa (a shuttle system with an overly enthusiastic driver) and the rest of the trip proceeded flawlessly.
After being awake for 24 hours, I finally made it home!
Our hotel was in Westminster, a quick tube ride away. I noticed immediately how lovely London is. It is a city, but unlike Paris or any of the Italian cities, it was very nice, not too overcrowded, not too industrial and not too many tall, intense buildings--at least in Westminster. Originally, our plan was to stay with our friend Emily who is studying in London, but her dorm doesn't allow overnight visitors so my mom had to book a hotel for us last minute, and man, she did well. It was super nice, especially considering where we had been staying before, and it was really hard not to just stay in our nice big, two double beds instead of venturing outside.
After resting up a bit, we headed to a nearby pub for dinner. I have to say I felt really, really, really cool sitting in an English pub eating fish and chips. Later, we met up with Emily and went to another pub where we drank really bad beer...but it was still cool, because it was in an English pub.
Now, disclaimer, before I go on: I absolutely LOVED London. So this blog might be excessive just because my love for it is undying. I know I was only there for two days, but I have wanted to go to London for as long as I can remember and it definitely did not disappoint. So bear with me here.
The next morning, after a beautiful night's sleep in my first comfortable bed of Europe, Michelle and I went and had an authentic English breakfast complete with baked beans, which I thought was weird at first, but actually made sense. Then we walked to Hyde Park, which is beyond gorgeous, and just sat there for a little while.
After marveling at the Palace, we walked to Westminster Abbey and met up with Emily who is a Royal Wedding/Royal Family nut just like me so we were way too excited to go inside. As an Episcopalian, it was nice to finally go inside an important church that wasn't Catholic. The church itself was stunning and very architecturally amazing.
Once we were done marveling at the abbey, we walked down to the Trafalgar Square area where we had another pub lunch and then walked along the Thames embankment a bit and saw the Houses of Parliament and the Clock Tower where Big Ben is (fun fact: the bell is named Big Ben, not the tower, thanks Emily!).
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| Emily and I on the Double Decker |
The last little blip in our travels occurred when the cab driver dropped us of at the Holiday Inn. Upon trying to check in, I learned that there are THREE Holiday Inns around Heathrow, so we had to take another cab to the correct hotel. After a too short night's sleep, we headed to the airport via the Hotel Hoppa (a shuttle system with an overly enthusiastic driver) and the rest of the trip proceeded flawlessly.
After being awake for 24 hours, I finally made it home!
Paris, Je T'aime
After our final hours in Orvieto (and saying goodbye to our favorite barista in broken Italian), Michelle and I started our crazy, exhausting, extra four days of traveling.
We left Orvieto for Bologna by train on Sunday evening. We got to Bologna around 8:30 pm and had about two and half hours to kill before our overnight train to Paris came. The Bologna train station was not at all exciting as everything was closed (not that there was a lot there to begin with) and the whole station was hot and humid so it was kind of an uncomfortable wait. While waiting at our track for the train, we asked a woman standing by if she was going to Paris. She replied in the french pronunciation, Paris, oui. Out of habit we replied grazie to which she corrected, Paris, merci. And just like that all the Italian I had picked up in the last five weeks became irrelevant.
The overnight train was definitely an interesting experience. Our cabin was about the size of an airplane bathroom and contained a triple-decked bunk bed and not much else. Michelle and I shared a cabin with a nice French lady. The train was also hot, as we didn't realize the window opened until morning. The nice thing about the overnight train was that our cabin locked so we could sleep without fear of theft. Trains usually rock me to sleep anyway, but you're really not supposed to sleep on Italian trains as they are supposedly the place to get robbed. So the train ride was pretty relaxing when the terrain was normal, but as we herked and jerked our way through the Swiss Alps, it was less relaxing and more "OMG THIS IS WHERE I DIE."
We arrived in Paris around 11 am and I noticed immediately as I got off the train that it was a hot, hot day. Our hotel was a metro ride and five minute walk away, and we were both drenched in sweat and close to heat stroke by the time we got there. Unlike the US, walking into the building provided no relief from the heat as Europeans don't really believe in air conditioning. So after two cold showers, Michelle and I headed out to explore Paris! Our first stop, naturally, was a Chinese restaurant, because we were both starving and it was the closest, safest looking option. Afterwards we went to see the structure I have been dying to see since I was a little Madeline fan--The Eiffel Tower!
It was just as magnificent in person as I hoped and I had to see it from every angle. I mean, this thing is HUGE. The area wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, and I think a lot of that has to do with how hot is was. Let me clarify as to not sound like a complainer: it was 97 degrees and HUMID, and was the fifth hottest day in Paris since 1870. Walking around in it was sweaty and I was already exhausted before we even began, so after a while I decided I needed to seek out the Starbucks that I saw people carrying around. We used the GPS on my phone to get there, and it took us in a sort of roundabout way, but it was totally worth it.
Michelle was dying to go to the real Chanel in Paris, so after that we took the metro to see the Arc du Triomphe and Champs Elysees (where all the designer stores are near).
Fun fact: there is a street called Avenue Kleber that runs to the Arc du Triomphe that is named after Jean Baptiste Kleber, who was a general to Napoleon and my Great, great (times however many generations) Grandfather!
We went into a lot of the designer stores and got weird looks from the doormen once they saw our footwear (we were both wearing flip flops) which kind of made me angry, I sort of wanted to say, "We have this same store in Scottsdale Fashion Square, MY mall, ok?" But then I remembered that I couldn't afford anything in any of the stores, so I let it go. But it was still AMAZING to see all the high fashion up close and Michelle and I both picked out our future Oscar dresses.
We then headed back toward the Eiffel Tower where I was meeting my friend Sarah from home who just started her own Study Abroad program in Paris. Unfortunately, we had some bad luck getting there because we got on the wrong train to begin with, then switched to a broken train, then I fell going up the stairs and got a nasty bruise, before finally getting on the correct line, switching lines once again and arrived near the Eiffel Tower. We had dinner with Sarah at a cool restaurant where the waiters corrected our French. I noticed that the French tend to do this which I found kind of funny, because no Italians ever did. I think the French get a bad rep as being rude because of this, but it helps us from looking like complete idiots in the future.
After dinner, Sarah had to go home, but Michelle and I went on a night cruise of the River Seine. It was a relaxing way to end a long day, and the city was absolutely beautiful at night with everything lit up. We saw a few more landmarks including the Louvre (which, by the way, is HUGE and covers 700 meters of city block, and has 14 km of galleries, to see every work of art it would take four months) and the Notre Dame. The Eiffel Tower looks amazing at night as well, and every hour on the hour it sparkles.
After a short, hot and humid night's sleep, we woke up, checked out of our hotel, had a nice French breakfast, and headed for the d'Orsay museum. It is across the river from the Louvre and housed in an old train station. It is sort of the Louvre, Jr. and houses what we can assume is a lot of Louvre overflow. We waited in line for a long time to get inside, and it was another hot day. But once we got inside we saw tons of French Impressionism, which was exciting for me since I'm not a huge art fan but I do love me some Monet. I got to see Monet's Blue Water Lilies and Japanese Foot Bridge over the Water Lily Pond, which are two of my favorites so that made the whole crowded museum experience worth it. The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, so I assume everyone who would normally have gone to the Louvre were at d'Orsay that day instead. We also saw Van Gogh's Self Portrait and a Manet exhibition.
We didn't spend too much time at the museum because we had an afternoon train to London across town so we had a nice lunch at a French bakery (complete with baguette and eclaire) before taking the bus to the Gare du Nord train station. The bus was interesting experience because it was hot and the drivers randomly decide that any given stop is their last, but we did get a nice little city tour and saw the Paris Opera house.
We finally got to the train station, found the Eurostar Terminal, went through customs, and we were off on our way to London! We both really liked Paris and agreed that we would have to come back someday, but since it is such a romantic city we mutually decided that we will return not with each other, but with our future boyfriends/fiances/husbands.
We left Orvieto for Bologna by train on Sunday evening. We got to Bologna around 8:30 pm and had about two and half hours to kill before our overnight train to Paris came. The Bologna train station was not at all exciting as everything was closed (not that there was a lot there to begin with) and the whole station was hot and humid so it was kind of an uncomfortable wait. While waiting at our track for the train, we asked a woman standing by if she was going to Paris. She replied in the french pronunciation, Paris, oui. Out of habit we replied grazie to which she corrected, Paris, merci. And just like that all the Italian I had picked up in the last five weeks became irrelevant.
The overnight train was definitely an interesting experience. Our cabin was about the size of an airplane bathroom and contained a triple-decked bunk bed and not much else. Michelle and I shared a cabin with a nice French lady. The train was also hot, as we didn't realize the window opened until morning. The nice thing about the overnight train was that our cabin locked so we could sleep without fear of theft. Trains usually rock me to sleep anyway, but you're really not supposed to sleep on Italian trains as they are supposedly the place to get robbed. So the train ride was pretty relaxing when the terrain was normal, but as we herked and jerked our way through the Swiss Alps, it was less relaxing and more "OMG THIS IS WHERE I DIE."
We arrived in Paris around 11 am and I noticed immediately as I got off the train that it was a hot, hot day. Our hotel was a metro ride and five minute walk away, and we were both drenched in sweat and close to heat stroke by the time we got there. Unlike the US, walking into the building provided no relief from the heat as Europeans don't really believe in air conditioning. So after two cold showers, Michelle and I headed out to explore Paris! Our first stop, naturally, was a Chinese restaurant, because we were both starving and it was the closest, safest looking option. Afterwards we went to see the structure I have been dying to see since I was a little Madeline fan--The Eiffel Tower!
We went into a lot of the designer stores and got weird looks from the doormen once they saw our footwear (we were both wearing flip flops) which kind of made me angry, I sort of wanted to say, "We have this same store in Scottsdale Fashion Square, MY mall, ok?" But then I remembered that I couldn't afford anything in any of the stores, so I let it go. But it was still AMAZING to see all the high fashion up close and Michelle and I both picked out our future Oscar dresses.
We then headed back toward the Eiffel Tower where I was meeting my friend Sarah from home who just started her own Study Abroad program in Paris. Unfortunately, we had some bad luck getting there because we got on the wrong train to begin with, then switched to a broken train, then I fell going up the stairs and got a nasty bruise, before finally getting on the correct line, switching lines once again and arrived near the Eiffel Tower. We had dinner with Sarah at a cool restaurant where the waiters corrected our French. I noticed that the French tend to do this which I found kind of funny, because no Italians ever did. I think the French get a bad rep as being rude because of this, but it helps us from looking like complete idiots in the future.
After dinner, Sarah had to go home, but Michelle and I went on a night cruise of the River Seine. It was a relaxing way to end a long day, and the city was absolutely beautiful at night with everything lit up. We saw a few more landmarks including the Louvre (which, by the way, is HUGE and covers 700 meters of city block, and has 14 km of galleries, to see every work of art it would take four months) and the Notre Dame. The Eiffel Tower looks amazing at night as well, and every hour on the hour it sparkles.
We didn't spend too much time at the museum because we had an afternoon train to London across town so we had a nice lunch at a French bakery (complete with baguette and eclaire) before taking the bus to the Gare du Nord train station. The bus was interesting experience because it was hot and the drivers randomly decide that any given stop is their last, but we did get a nice little city tour and saw the Paris Opera house.
We finally got to the train station, found the Eurostar Terminal, went through customs, and we were off on our way to London! We both really liked Paris and agreed that we would have to come back someday, but since it is such a romantic city we mutually decided that we will return not with each other, but with our future boyfriends/fiances/husbands.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Goodbye Orvieto
We're down to our last two and a half hours here in Orvieto, and then we board a train to Bologna where we'll board another train to Paris. It's hard to believe we're leaving when I'm sitting at my favorite caffe where my favorite baristas have gotten to know me and say "ciao!" when they see me. But I had an awesome last 24 hours here, so I am totally content with my final days.
This weekend, as I mentioned I think, is the Corpus Domini festivities. Yesterday was the Lady's Parade or something to that effect where a ton of Orvieto women walked up and down the streets in beautiful Medieval costumes, even the littlest members.
There was another, bigger procession this morning and it made me wonder how one is able to participate. Is it a privilege to be invited? Are the costumes passed on from generation to generation?
Last night the majority of Orvieto kids that were still around we to an underground wine tasting. However, it wasn't so much a wine tasting as an all-you-can-drink wine buffet with only two types of wine. But since there was plenty of wine, it goes without saying that it was a lot of fun. The chefs and waiters at the restaurant made no effort to hide how much they love American girls and kept insisting on taking pictures with all of us...it was kind of weird, but I wasn't too concerned considering we are leaving today.
Well I have said all my goodbyes and packed up all my stuff, all that's left is to board the train and head on out. I don't know what my internet situation will be from now on, but hopefully I'll be able to keep this blog updated one way or another!
Grazie e arrivederci!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Final Countdown
I can't believe we are already at the end of our time here in Orvieto. School is done (!!!) and Michelle and I leave Sunday afternoon to start our journey westward. It is kind of sad considering how wonderful Orvieto is, and how much I have grown to love it, but also exciting to start the last leg of our adventure and of course, to go home! I'm not gonna lie--I miss America so freaking much. I have been telling everyone that as soon as I get back I want Starbucks and guacamole, and once I enter my house I'm going to hug my dogs and jump in my pool. One of my friends said she's going to kiss a cactus...I wouldn't go that far, but I get it.
This week has been mostly devoted to final essays, but there have been a few highlights along the way.
1. Cooking Class: I don't have any pictures, unfortunately, but this may have been my best meal in Italy. We learned how to make handmade pasta (tagliatelle), eggplant parmigiana, zucchini flan, pesto, pasta ragu, and tiramisu. Well, "learned" is kind of relative...I'm not confident in my ability to cook any of these dishes again, but I do know I learned how to eat them.
2. Suddenly discovering the best restaurants in Orvieto: For some reason, we hadn't really stumbled upon the best restaurants until the last week or two, and it's sad that it took this long, but so worth the wait.
3. We're being replaced: I have seen a lot of college-aged Americans around Orvieto which makes me think that they are the new crop coming in to be the obnoxious Americans at Bar Duomo. It's sad because I'd like to think everyone here will miss us.
4. Hot, Hot, Hot: The weather has been ridiculously hot and humid this week. I'm ready for the dry heat again.
5. Corpus Domini: It's a big religious festival that I can't really explain (google it), but basically the town is decked out in Medieval banners and there are monk chants blasting from the Duomo that can be heard all throughout town. This weekend all the processions and such are going down, it should be interesting.
6. Tourists Central: Every week the amount of tourists has increased (and the amount increases throughout the week) and they seem to be exploding out of the tour buses these days. Most of them are English speaking, so that's always fun. I also saw a Disney Adventures tour group come through yesterday which was weird to say the least...
7. Parents: Some of the kids in our group's parents are in town, and although it makes me miss my own, it's comforting and exciting to have them here.
8. Saying goodbyes: I can't believe it, but in two days I won't be walking around Orvieto, saying "hi" to everyone I know. Some of my friends are leaving tomorrow and I will miss them.
Tonight is our "Farewell Dinner" which I'm sure will be succeeded by a last big group hoorah at Bar Duomo. Hopefully, there will be some nice pictures of everyone getting all fancy and such.
This week has been mostly devoted to final essays, but there have been a few highlights along the way.
1. Cooking Class: I don't have any pictures, unfortunately, but this may have been my best meal in Italy. We learned how to make handmade pasta (tagliatelle), eggplant parmigiana, zucchini flan, pesto, pasta ragu, and tiramisu. Well, "learned" is kind of relative...I'm not confident in my ability to cook any of these dishes again, but I do know I learned how to eat them.
2. Suddenly discovering the best restaurants in Orvieto: For some reason, we hadn't really stumbled upon the best restaurants until the last week or two, and it's sad that it took this long, but so worth the wait.
3. We're being replaced: I have seen a lot of college-aged Americans around Orvieto which makes me think that they are the new crop coming in to be the obnoxious Americans at Bar Duomo. It's sad because I'd like to think everyone here will miss us.
4. Hot, Hot, Hot: The weather has been ridiculously hot and humid this week. I'm ready for the dry heat again.
5. Corpus Domini: It's a big religious festival that I can't really explain (google it), but basically the town is decked out in Medieval banners and there are monk chants blasting from the Duomo that can be heard all throughout town. This weekend all the processions and such are going down, it should be interesting.
6. Tourists Central: Every week the amount of tourists has increased (and the amount increases throughout the week) and they seem to be exploding out of the tour buses these days. Most of them are English speaking, so that's always fun. I also saw a Disney Adventures tour group come through yesterday which was weird to say the least...
7. Parents: Some of the kids in our group's parents are in town, and although it makes me miss my own, it's comforting and exciting to have them here.
8. Saying goodbyes: I can't believe it, but in two days I won't be walking around Orvieto, saying "hi" to everyone I know. Some of my friends are leaving tomorrow and I will miss them.
Tonight is our "Farewell Dinner" which I'm sure will be succeeded by a last big group hoorah at Bar Duomo. Hopefully, there will be some nice pictures of everyone getting all fancy and such.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Last Week
Less than one week until I leave Orvieto. I decided to post some pictures of this beautiful place since I haven't really had the chance to. Enjoy!
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| View from the top of the cliff |
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| View of Orvieto Scalo from Orvieto (the main town sits on top of the cliff) |
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| It is a very windy road to the top |
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Firenze (The Final Field Trip)
Yesterday was our last group field trip. It's kind of hard to believe I probably won't be in an Autogrill for a long time (For those of you who don't know, Autogrill is the Italian equivalent of gas station mini marts ON CRACK). Our first stop in Florence was to The Academia, the art museum where Michelangelo's "David" is kept. The museum is pretty small, but David is MASSIVE and impressive. Our tour guide made a joke that all the girls in the group looked enamored and said something like, "It all looks good now, but will be gone later" referring to David's perfectly chiseled body. The Academia also housed a bunch of other cool art, but was very, very crowded and difficult to move around, so I was happy when it was time for lunch.
After lunch our next scheduled activity was a walking tour of Florence. For those of you who don't know and haven't read my other blog about Florence (shame!), the city has excellent shopping and high fashion. So a lot of people in our group, especially those who weren't staying the weekend in Florence decided to ditch the tour (which was sure to be too long, too hot, and not interesting enough) and shop instead. Michelle and I struggled with the idea, but in the end decided to at least start the tour and if we passed by a shop we just could not resist, we would taper off. Well, it was about five minutes in when we ducked into a caffe to grab a bottle of water, when we walked out the group was gone and we could not find them anywhere. We were both wearing our "whisper units"--little radio devices we use on tours so everyone can hear our guides--so we tried to find the group based on our guide's voice coming in and out. We spent a good ten minutes tracking them before we decided to look for the group in the Florence H&M.
In our defense, shopping is a great way to have a cultural experience. I learned how Italian registers and fitting rooms operate (slowlyyyy) and that people have absolutely no regard for personal space. Normally, if you run into someone in America you apologize profusely, but in Europe I'm pretty sure they do it on purpose.
I also finally got an authentic Italian leather bag--something I have been dreaming of since my last visit to this wonderful city, and I also had excellent gelato...drip all over me as we ran to our meeting place.
As you can tell, Florence is beautiful, and is the only city we've visited here that I can see myself returning to long-term. My love for it is not easily expressed in words.
On another note, the Jersey Shore wrapped filming up a little while ago, so Michelle, Tiffany, and I are officially the only Orvieto kids who got to see them! This only makes me super excited because everyone else desperately wanted to run into them too.
This is our last week in Orvieto! It's kind of hard to believe, but I'm also kind of ready to move on to the next part of our adventure and go back to the USA. This week is paper writing galore, a cooking class, and hopefully some fun hidden in between! Stay tuned!
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| The famous Piazza della Repubblica |
After lunch our next scheduled activity was a walking tour of Florence. For those of you who don't know and haven't read my other blog about Florence (shame!), the city has excellent shopping and high fashion. So a lot of people in our group, especially those who weren't staying the weekend in Florence decided to ditch the tour (which was sure to be too long, too hot, and not interesting enough) and shop instead. Michelle and I struggled with the idea, but in the end decided to at least start the tour and if we passed by a shop we just could not resist, we would taper off. Well, it was about five minutes in when we ducked into a caffe to grab a bottle of water, when we walked out the group was gone and we could not find them anywhere. We were both wearing our "whisper units"--little radio devices we use on tours so everyone can hear our guides--so we tried to find the group based on our guide's voice coming in and out. We spent a good ten minutes tracking them before we decided to look for the group in the Florence H&M.
In our defense, shopping is a great way to have a cultural experience. I learned how Italian registers and fitting rooms operate (slowlyyyy) and that people have absolutely no regard for personal space. Normally, if you run into someone in America you apologize profusely, but in Europe I'm pretty sure they do it on purpose.
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| High fashion and luxury cars in Florence, reminded me of home |
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| The Florence Duomo, so impressive |
As you can tell, Florence is beautiful, and is the only city we've visited here that I can see myself returning to long-term. My love for it is not easily expressed in words.
On another note, the Jersey Shore wrapped filming up a little while ago, so Michelle, Tiffany, and I are officially the only Orvieto kids who got to see them! This only makes me super excited because everyone else desperately wanted to run into them too.
This is our last week in Orvieto! It's kind of hard to believe, but I'm also kind of ready to move on to the next part of our adventure and go back to the USA. This week is paper writing galore, a cooking class, and hopefully some fun hidden in between! Stay tuned!
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