Antica Casa le Rondini Pistoia

... and limited to pastry or pizza at 5pm, but I found Brasserie La Loggia near the station that had a full menu all day.
Walked in to order a pasta and was amazed and delighted that they also had a display case full of Belgian, German, Dutch and other quality beers.
Had a La Trappe with my bolognese. Even though it's made in the Netherlands it was still a good tripel.
Was ready to go after that but ...

... so Katy, Steve and I waked around for a bit before hand. I showed them where Academia was so they could see the David (since I had seen it for free in August, I decided I wasn’t going to pay this time) and I hung out and walked around a bit. It felt nice to be in a city that I had been to before because I knew my general way around. Actually, I have to give myself props, I don’t think we used a map but maybe once the entire time we were ...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I spent the morning taking an Italian exam!!! The afternoon was a little more fun, touring Palazzo Pitti with my Art History class.

It was a little strange spending it without everyone but my school put together a little gathering for us. A group of us dined on a typical American Thanksgiving at a local restaurant. We were served Butternut Squash soup with bread, Turkey ...

... all the other hotels/apartments that they've tried to turn into a "hostel" by simply throwing some bunk beds into existing hotel sized bedrooms.
Wandered around Florence which is a beautiful city and great to just wander around - apart from there being more US exchange students there than locals.
Found Mostodolce brewpub and tried their beers. First decent beer I've had since entering Italy.
The Pils was a bit average but the ...

Hi Everyone!

After an exhausting weekend in Brussels, I was in for yet another treat with cooking classes in Florence. Organized by my school, a group of us met with a chef for some lessons.

We were taught how to prepare typical Tuscan cuisine including Ribollita and Stuffed zucchini-flowers.

Everything was delicious & I look forward to trying these recipes at home!

I'll update you soon,

Siara

... days relaxing at the villa (where I got some writing done), sauntering around Florence again, and finally trying the wild boar (yummy). The Uffizi gallery was nice. Here we got to see pieces by Divinci, Michaelangelo, and Rembrandt. There was a series of work that I really enjoyed called "The Seven Virtues". I'm not sure who the artists were but really neat. After the gallery we sat in the piazza and people watched, enjoying our very ...

... bags because they only fit as much as possible and then wait for the next flight. Luckily I was one of the few who got both bags on that flight, it might have been better not to because I struggled carrying all my stuff. (Mom all the bags were definately overweight. That scale thing cannot be very accurate.) Its so nice to be somewhere that I can get around knowing a few major areas. We were in a hotel right on the river for the first 2 ...

... glass and manipulating light to see things both very small and very large. After the museum we went shopping at one of the western world's oldest pharmacies - which dates back over 300 years. Originally set up by monks that made and eventually started selling herbal remedies, they now sell those same herbal remedies in addition to natural perfumes, bath oils, etc - including the very same perfume they created for Catherine de Medici in the 1500's (remember ...

... tôle froissée mais un embouteillage monstre sur l'autoroute, notre voiture bonne pour passer plusieurs semaines au garage et pas de moyen de transports pour rentrer. Merci l'assurance, un taxi vient nous chercher, nous emmène jusqu'à Gènes où on nous fournis un voiture de location pour rentrer...

Florence is a beautiful hilly city made predominantly of marble, in hues of white, green and pink. Known for its art and of course also as the home of famous artists, the most well know being Michelangelo. Again we stayed at a campsite that required public transport to reach the city centre something we have actually got reasonably skilled about for people who hardly ever used public transport before ...