Casa Claudia San Gimignano

... to a little Piazza I had heard about. We got on a bus, and headed that way, not really sure where to get off. At one point we realized how beautiful the view was, and as the bus was stopping at a random stop, Kelsa was like "we should get off here!" so we all quickly hopped off the bus. We were standing in front of a great view, and steps that lead us higher to a church and cemetery type place. We took our time enjoying the view and the peacefulness ...

... Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing, Potatoes, and Mixed Vegetables. For dessert pumpkin pie, ice cream, and apple cider! It was nice to spend the night with classmates and a few professors.

Friday night, we had yet another Thanksgiving with all of my friends. Everyone prepared their favorite dish and we spent the night telling stories of our families Thanksgivings.

I'll update you soon,

Siara

... 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

... the town of Gallarate...just a little north of Milan. It is Pizza Heaven here. Found a Squid and Octopus pizza! Yes it was good...says Kara....of course Rich was hesitant to try it! This particular place even had a French Fry pizza!

All for now .
Enjoy the photos!

Blessings,
Rich and Kara

... Rossi was her husband. Then I realized that this old lady was the wife of a bicycling legend and the frame on the wall was one of the frames from his hay-day.

We moved onto shopping and grabbing pizza for lunch then on to the piazza Campos. Here we looked around until it was time to go to St. Dominics Church for the start of a walking tour. The tour guide gave us interesting history about Siena, its churches, and its customs. We ended up at the Duomo which was incredible ...

... in Manarola, these are beautifully hand finished. As well as being expensive they are also heavy, and we don't want any more hassles with excess baggage! Day 2: Siena, the city of bricks. Drove through the Val D'Elsa, stopping briefly at Colle di Val D'Elsa, a quiter version of a walled city. This town's speciality is crystal glass and we visited a few showrooms for a look see. Beautiful stuff but once again quite heavy. On the road the next stop is Monteriggioni, a ...

... 10€. It's sooo cute. The orange button is a little odd on it, but it's cute none the less. So when we got home we had chicken cutlets, some pasta, and homemade garlic bread. Which honestly, between Kelly and I, our dinner (combined) cost less than 5€. It's so different eating here. After you go out and see the portion size they give you (which are so much more realistic than restaurants in the States), you find yourself fixing it the same way they do. Smaller portions ...

Bonjourno! We made it to San Gimignano without any trouble yesterday. I love taking trains!!! They are so easy and relaxing. At any rate, San Gimignano is amazing....it is a medieval village at the top of a mountain. It is a walled city that is known for its skyscrapers that date from the 1100-1200s. It is the perfect place to relax, shop, and eat after a week of non-stop sightseeing. On Grandma Guiler's suggestion, Mom ...

... smashed my head in, haha. A bit of blood, a lot of bruising, I look like i've been fighting and it still hurts a bit. It's a shame I can't upload a picture here because it looks pretty nasty with a big bump on my forehead and a cut right at the top of my nose (I probably should have had a stitch or two in it, oh well) So yeah, haha, Florence is pretty but it's full of loud American Tourists. One of the Armed forces guys was saying it makes him kind of ashamed to be American.