Anne Berte is safely in Italy! =) She is in Florence for a few days, then off to The Cinque Terre and Lucca. We will meet in Florence on May 5th to go to Castelpagano together and meet our extended family. Love you and see you all soon!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Greece!
Studying in Siena, Italy has allowed me to meet many amazing
people from all over the world. One of our classmates, Konstantina, is from
Greece. She studied in Siena for two months and we became good friends during
that time. From April 19th to April 22nd, a friend and I
spent a long weekend with her in Thessaloniki, Greece! We learned some Greek
along the way and I would like to learn the Greek alphabet so that when I
return to Greece, maybe I can understand more! Greece is a beautiful country.
Yes, there is an economic crisis right now, but that doesn’t take away from the
beauty and culture of the country.
There are no words to describe the taste of Greek food. Greek salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and feta is so fresh and delicious! We had it both homemade and from a restaurant and they were both equally delectable. We ate out and Konstantina’s mother cooked for us. We dined on fresh feta cheese, creamy tzatziki salad, steaming souvlaki, which is spiced,meat on a skewer, tender lamb, and triopita. Triopita is a feta cheese pie made with filo dough. We had it for breakfast every day and I could continue eating it every day! The flaky crust and warm feta inside makes for a delicious dish any time of day or night. Dessert is complimentary at restaurants and you get free water wherever you go: restaurant, bar, or cafĂ©.
We visited the Royal Tomb of Phillip II in Vergina, the town next to Konstantina’s home town of Veria. The tomb is now a museum but the original headstones, jewels, and even cloth are well preserved from 300 B.C. It was not raided by grave diggers so everything was perfectly preserved. We even saw burned animal bones and food from 300 B.C.! The marble entrances to the chambers are also maintained in this underground museum.
Have you ever heard of Sakis Rouvas? Well, he is one of the
most famous Greek singers and we got to go to one of his concerts! Often times,
large bars will have famous singers preform on Friday and Saturday nights. There
are tables and chairs around a small stage and it is common to buy a tray of
flowers to throw at the singer. We went on the 20th to his concert
and danced the night away with a bachelorette party! It was so much fun and a
great part of the Greek culture. I still cannot believe we saw Sakis!
Overall, we had a fantastic time in Greece! The
weather was either sunny or partly cloudy all weekend. It was in the 60s during
the day and 50s during the nights (Fahrenheit of course!) and we saw many
beautiful cities around Thessaloniki. I can't wait to go back!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Cinque Terre!
Have you ever watched the TV show LOST? The towering tropical hills, the fog covered peaks, the rain breaking through the trees during a sun shower? Well, I'm pretty sure that I was trapped in LOST this past weekend while at the Cinque Terre.
The Cinque Terre in Liguria is five cities all connected by one hiking trail called Via del Amore or the Road of Love. A tradition of this trail is for two lovers to attach a lock to a piece of the trail and throw the jey into the ocean, signifying they will be together forever. Here is a picture of the iconic symbol of the Via del Amore; two people kissing, covered by padlocks.
The order of cities from South to North is Riomaggiore, Manarola, Coniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso. We stayed in Riomaggiore in an apartment on the water. We hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola (about 1km and took us 40 minutes) then took a train to Vernazza where we hiked from there to Monterosso (about 3km and took us 2 hours).
It was lightly raining the entire day but the hike was gorgeous either way. The sun came out at the end of the hike, which was a nice ending to our day. The water is a crystal clear blue/teal color. It was such an amazing place and I am so glad I went to the Cinque Terre with everyone. Partially from the beautiful of the land, partly because there were cats everywhere! =)
The Cinque Terre in Liguria is five cities all connected by one hiking trail called Via del Amore or the Road of Love. A tradition of this trail is for two lovers to attach a lock to a piece of the trail and throw the jey into the ocean, signifying they will be together forever. Here is a picture of the iconic symbol of the Via del Amore; two people kissing, covered by padlocks.
The order of cities from South to North is Riomaggiore, Manarola, Coniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso. We stayed in Riomaggiore in an apartment on the water. We hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola (about 1km and took us 40 minutes) then took a train to Vernazza where we hiked from there to Monterosso (about 3km and took us 2 hours).
It was lightly raining the entire day but the hike was gorgeous either way. The sun came out at the end of the hike, which was a nice ending to our day. The water is a crystal clear blue/teal color. It was such an amazing place and I am so glad I went to the Cinque Terre with everyone. Partially from the beautiful of the land, partly because there were cats everywhere! =)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Lucca!
Monday, April 9th, we took a day trip to a Northern Tuscan town called Lucca. Lucca is a city surrounded by a fortified wall. There are some small canals both outside and inside the cities walls. There are vast green fields and many parks located on the walls. I figured I had to go there before my mother. You know, check it out, make sure it was safe and such.
The one thing that I do not like about Siena is the lack of green. There are a few valleys that are grassy, but they are private property and not accessible to the public. The trees are located on the outer edges of the city so we don't walk by much green plant life every day. In Lucca, there are open fields and large areas of lush green grass as well as blossoming trees and fresh air. Of the four hours we spent in the city, one of it was spent just laying in the grass. Forty-five minutes was most likely spent eating things (because you HAVE to taste gelato in every city as well as the famous frati, or Italian version of donuts) and the rest of the time we spent walking around, mostly looking at dogs.
There is a lot of grafitti in Lucca, but it is all love notes and song lyrics. We did not see one piece of hateful grafitti or someone branding a wall with their name. It was actually really nice and it gave the city a unique feel. That, along with the fact that Lucca has a very large Anime following and there were mobs of kids dressed up in costume.
The one thing that I do not like about Siena is the lack of green. There are a few valleys that are grassy, but they are private property and not accessible to the public. The trees are located on the outer edges of the city so we don't walk by much green plant life every day. In Lucca, there are open fields and large areas of lush green grass as well as blossoming trees and fresh air. Of the four hours we spent in the city, one of it was spent just laying in the grass. Forty-five minutes was most likely spent eating things (because you HAVE to taste gelato in every city as well as the famous frati, or Italian version of donuts) and the rest of the time we spent walking around, mostly looking at dogs.
This was taken inside the walls, but that is what it looks like outside the walls of Lucca!
"Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you!"
Lyrics from Coldplay's 'Yellow'. Beautiful grafitti in my opinion.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Venezia!
I know it has been a while since my last blog post so I apologize. March was the busiest month so far. I had classes every day from 8:30am-1:00pm and then 3:00pm-6:00pm. I didn't have as much free time so I didn't so as much traveling. This month is my last month here, so we will be doing a lot! Look out for posts =)
This past weekend, we went to Venice! We left on Friday and arrived in the evening in Venice. Four of my friends and I had a nice dinner and took a short walk around the city. Saturday, we woke up early and set off on a walking tour of the city. One of our director's friends in Venice took us around the city.
First, we went to through the Jewish Ghetto. We saw the old check point buildings and barriers around the neighborhood and the World War II Memorial there. We walked up and down the canals and made out way to Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square. We went into St. Mark's Basillica and went to the top of the Tower in the square. The view was stunning! You could see all of Venice from every direction. For the remainder of the day, we just strolled around the city. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, it was warm, and we were in Venezia!
Sunday we went to the Island of Murano. it is the famous Island where Murano glass is made. We watched glass blowing and toured the shops and city. The canal's are shorter and the island is smaller than Venice, but still just as beautiful. We arrived back Sunday night after an amazing weekend.
This past weekend, we went to Venice! We left on Friday and arrived in the evening in Venice. Four of my friends and I had a nice dinner and took a short walk around the city. Saturday, we woke up early and set off on a walking tour of the city. One of our director's friends in Venice took us around the city.
First, we went to through the Jewish Ghetto. We saw the old check point buildings and barriers around the neighborhood and the World War II Memorial there. We walked up and down the canals and made out way to Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square. We went into St. Mark's Basillica and went to the top of the Tower in the square. The view was stunning! You could see all of Venice from every direction. For the remainder of the day, we just strolled around the city. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, it was warm, and we were in Venezia!
Sunday we went to the Island of Murano. it is the famous Island where Murano glass is made. We watched glass blowing and toured the shops and city. The canal's are shorter and the island is smaller than Venice, but still just as beautiful. We arrived back Sunday night after an amazing weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)