Albergo Italia Reggello

... But Florence isn’t hard to navigate either. If you know the few big roads and the general direction of places, you can’t really get lost. I found a food market (since I love markets) and wandered around a while, and bought the beans that my mom had specifically requested, then went to meet Katy and Steve. We then went to the Duomo, where we took pictures and I lit candles for Granddaddy and my boss’s sister, then hung out and took in ...

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

... find them, not knowing who I was looking for, then Kathie came out to help. We caught up with them and I then figured out that Kathie was talking about Dave and Loraine Huner. Their son played baseball with Michael and that son and his twin sister graduated with Michael.

After quickly saying hello we went back to dinner then after dinner went to the bus stop for our ride to the hotel. At the hotel Kathie and I relaxed then started getting ready for our last day of riding.

... but definitely the best sandwich I have had in Italy considering the bread didn't cut up my gums like most paninis do. We then had to come back and had our classes in the hotel. After classes we made spaghetti for dinner for the three of us plus Rachel. Alina then made her awesome dessert again. We went up to Dai and Lauren's because they were having a little wine and cheese get together. It was fun, and awesome because they ...

... few girls from the program at a place called Astor right next to the Duomo at 10:30. This place was smaller, but definitely there for Americans. Ground floor holds a large bar on which girls can dance if they want, and downstairs was the dance floor that had strobe lights and fake smoke machines like they just discovered Spencer's or something. On the back wall in the main floor they had fashion shows running nonstop for some ...

... thought he might make our day more fun by holding the sign with our name on it upsidedown. This guy obviously knows his Renaissance art, architecture and Florentine history, but that was about as far as his effort stretched. It seemed like an huge effort for him to open up about anything else. Not very personable. Oh well, can't win em all. Our day was pretty much like this: walk quickly through tiny streets, stop for a second ...

... pm, but with the late train, those were long gone. Turns out, reservations weren't needed anyway, and we walked right in. We toured the apartments and the modern art gallery. Because the collection was assembled by the Medici, the best that I can tell some sort of ruling family of the city-state and very into catholic depictions in art. If I have to see one more Virgin Mary being Assumed into Heaven I'm going to puke. Unless, of ...

... from the train station looking for directions). Here I was also propositioned by a girl on a bridge, whom I asked for directions. The conversation went as follows: M: 'Mi scusi, centro?' [My Italian is really very bad] G: 'Go up that street.' M: 'Grazie.' G: 'Can I ask you a question?' M: 'Sure.' [What the heck?] G: 'I would like to have sex with a woman, would you be interested?' M: 'Er, no.' G: 'What if I pay you?' M: 'No!' G: 'Oh. Why not?' At which point I ran off ...