Semester in Review

Studying abroad in Italy was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My Italian improved greatly, I made friends with people from all across the globe, and I have a new sense of independence. The things one learns from studying abroad are things that will remain forever. I am grateful I had this opportunity to explore another culture and other parts of the world. I encourage everyone to study abroad at some point in their life.

As many of you may know, I also had the opportunity to meet some of my extended family while in Italy. This in itself was a life changing experience. Knowing where my great-grandparents came from and how my family came to be was just incredible. Meeting the people and hearing the stories was so much more meaningful than reading it on a piece of paper. Being able to meet them and communicate with them was helpful as well and the last eight years studying Italian has definitely paid off!

I would like to continue blogging. Whether it’s here or on another blog, I will continue to keep all of my lovely readers up to date on my happenings. Grazie a voi! Thank you all! J  

Siamo in arrivo a...Castelpagano!

Anne and I have arrived in Castelpagano, Campania safely! We are checked into our hotel, Ca Del Re in Colle Sannita. We navigated the streets of Naples and Benevento and only slightly got off course ('getting lost' doesn't apply to this situation). Campania a beautiful region and I am excited to spend the next 4 days here, meeting my family and traveling with my mom. See you all in less than a week!!!

Dublin!

DUBLIN, IRELAND! Spending 2 days in Dublin was a) not enough time to fully experience Dublin and b) one of the most amazing experiences. Yes, I have said that everything has been an amazing experience, but Dublin tops them all. We met some amazing people from across the globe and I felt we really got to know them. It was a lot of fun in a beautiful city. Even the night before, which we spent in a hostel in Pisa, I toasted to my 20th birthday with someone from Egypt, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Germany, and India.

Shannon and I arrived on Tuesday May 1st to a soaking wet Dublin. After taking the bus for an hour on the wrong side of the road, we arrived at our hostel just in time for their free breakfast. We hung out at the hostel, making friends with a girl from Norther California, whom we ended up hanging out with both days and becoming good friends with her.

The three of us got lunch together at an Irish Pub. I got cottage pie, which is like shephard's pie but made with lamb and about 100x better! It was hearty and delicious and just what I wanted on a cold, rainy Irish day. Afterwards, we toured the Jameson Whiskey Distillery then saw The Hunger Games at the movie theatre. We all cooked dinner together and had a relativley early night in.

Wednesday May 2nd the sun was shining and we got up early, had breakfast, and hopped on a walking tour of Dublin. The guide, Kyle, was an Aussie with a head full of Irish knowledge. He covered Dublin/Ireland's history from Vikings to British rule to the Potatoe famine and where the country is today. The three and a half hour long tour took us to see things such as the Parliament building, The Spire, Molly Malone's Statue, St. Stephen's Garden, and Wolfe Tone's statue. It was a very enjoyable tour. A big group of us from the tour got lunch together at another Pub: Beef and Guinness Stew. GENIUS! Shannon, new friend Lauren and I did a bit of shopping, then went back to the hostel. A little later we went to a pub for some Irish music and dancing, which was awesome!

Dublin is a wonderful city filled with a rich history and beauty. I look foward to going back and spending more time in the city.   

Anne is in Italy!

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! 

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 19^th to April 22^nd, 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 café.

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 20^th 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!

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! =)

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.

This was taken inside the walls, but that is what it looks like outside the walls of Lucca!

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.

"Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you!"

Lyrics from Coldplay's 'Yellow'. Beautiful grafitti in my opinion.