Club Hotel Olbia

... of a day it was outside).

After spending a good amount of time enjoying the view, we headed back down toward the river, winding our way down little stairs and hills, until we were next to the Ponte Vecchio. At this point, Steve broke off again to find a place to eat, while the girls strolled in and out of shops just taking in the scenery. Later, we met up with Steve and headed back to the hostel for the night in preparation of the big day ahead.

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 ...

... was really good and the honey ale and double blonde were good too and certainly better than anything other Italian beer to date.


Tuesday checked out the Uffize Gallery which was excellent. All the "Grotesque" style paintings on the ceilings were really cool.

Had the Florentine specialty - Bistecca Florentina at Osteria de Benci. A T-Bone steak from a particular breed of Florentine cow which is fed and bled a certain way ...

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

... there is communal garden with vegetables, a shed for the cow, a hen house and a fenced area for the geese. All around are trees who at this time where dropping lots of walnuts and chestnuts. In one of the houses there is daily a school for the smaller children (primary school) where in turns some of the adults of the Valle give classes. In the other house there is a kitchen/living room that functions as a social meeting space ...

... cheek Gelato, my left butt cheek Pasta, my tummy rolls beer, my chin Chin and my second Chin Cookie. Its fantastic! I love Carbs!! Well, I might as well love them as much as I can right now, because as soon as we get back they are going away for a while =) And I will welcome in the gym! Hellloooooooo Elliptical! But were not thinking of that right now, are we? Anyway, Im going to explore and see if I can upload you all some photos right now. If ...

... their attention for a while by singing songs, including 'I'll be working on the railroad', but pretty soon the kids started getting loud and moving around, so they left. We went to the rightfully named best gelati shop in town, Gelateria Vivoli, and enjoyed our last gelatis before walking around the Duomo and Bridge again. We got back to the hostel pretty early to pack and then I sadly said goodbye to Claudia, since she was leaving at 2:30 in the morning!

... walking we finally arrived at the Accademia. This was more the museum where you could just walk right past the line outside, go up to the reservation window, get your tickets and then walk right into the museum. No waiting. It was perfection. The Accademia is first and foremost a sculpture museum, with two floors of Renaissance art above the sculptures, including some Botticelli's. We skipped the paintings and stayed on the first ...

... the massive Medici palace for a while, peeking through the gates to the Boboli Gardens just behind, but decided not to spend the money on the extreme entrance fee and instead tried to find the Zoological Museum down the street. Though it was closed, we padded quietly through the School of Zoology, sneaking a look at the diligent students as they worked away in the silent library. We spent the rest of the day relaxing - after a mini siesta, we had a nice filling dinner ...

... found it better to stick to what I know best so I sang some Sinatra of Course. I had sung Old Blue Eye's version of "That's Life" before so I belted it out as best I could. My friend was nice enough to capture the last chorus on video. To view this video, go the photo album section at the top of this entry in my travel log and click on the "That's Life" video file. It's hard to hear and see, but it is still fun to watch.