Villa Montartino Florence

... mind up that I was going to wait until I got back, but I didn’t want to wait any longer. So Katy and I weaved our way through the booths looking at purses and going back to look at purses and being positive that I was getting the right one. I had seen several I liked in Venice, and I found them again when I got here, but nothing was sticking out (except, of course, a purse that was WAY too expensive). So I kept looking. FINALLY I saw one that I ...

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 ...

... life time on this trip already!
Climbed the tower in the main piazza, saw an enormously large pizza and had wild boar sausages for lunch which were a bit gamey but nice.
Went for drinks at Lochness bar and ended up drinking long islands as there wasn't much in the way of wine or beer there.

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

... way, I catch another eye which seems to mirror my own potential panic and we burst out laughing! We both enjoying each others apparent shock at the lack of 'our train stop' we discussed that they must...Must be more then one stop in Florence after all, these Italians must know what they are doing when they give directions... I hope. So I did walk out of the train, at Santa Maria Novella, the appropriate stop thank goodness, and people are ...

... on the way, kristina informed me i was going to dinner at 8 with her, stef, molly, and elizabeth at Tijuana - this insanely delicious piece of food heaven. i did not argue. so i got home, showered and made a really big salad as a pregamer so i wouldn't spend as much at the restaurant. my hair was wet, i was in my famous soccer shorts and sports bra combo, and had just set down this massive scrumptuous looking salad at 7 when kristina texts "meet me downstairs in 15 ...

... shop in town. At 1:30 it was closed so we continue into town to check out some shops and a few of the sights around town.

On the way we found the piazza Campo and the tower there. We also saw a few churches. We stumbled upon a photo shop that had a replacement battery for my camera. After additional exploration we made it back to the bike shop. We went inside to find an old shop with not allot of merchandise. We were looking for a water bottle for Kathie and a souvenir ...

... is buried) at night. We reminisced on coming to the same square with our tour guide marco and going into a leather store. 8) Buona Note: We went to bed after that because we had to get up early again to go to Cinque Terre! * I posted all of the photos on Facebook- I know many of you don't have facebook but you can view all of the photos with this public link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2 072674&l=e2618&id=35805139

... picnic and sit amongst the locals, enjoying a glass of wine, eating panini con formaggio or prosciutto, and breathing in the restorative aromatic tuscan air. We continued our walk on Via di San Leonardo which is an extremely picturesque road lined with olive groves, villas and cypress trees until we reached the Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte, which ended up being my all-time favorite church in Italy (and that's saying a lot in a country filled with ...

... that only gold and jewellery can be sold on this road. Alot less smelly and a better choice for all the ladies out there. The Duomo has a Latin meridian clock in it - one that measures time from 6pm not midnight. I saw the ancient homes of the wealthy which had bath rooms ( no running water but they had running slaves - my tour guides joke). I went into the Duomo and marvelled at both the architecture and the beauty of the church. The highlights though were nestled ...