La Riviera Montecatini Terme

... 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 ...

... purse. I still don’t regret it at all. After I found my purse, Katy found one she liked as well, so we both left with new purses. We went to grab a bite to eat at a little restaurant right down the street from our hostel, then went to pick up Steve. That night, we basically just chilled out, got settled, and caught up with stories from Rome and Poland (where Steve had been).

The second day Ali and Kelsa were coming in the late ...

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

... packed and ready to go on the bus with 3 minutes to spare. I have to say everyone has been quite prompt and efficient. We've been very proud of them. The weather was gorgeous. Sunny blue skies and clear waters twinkled at us as we headed out of Genoa. The countryside was gorgeous. We stopped at a rest stop for lunch. It certainly is very different from our kind of rest stops. They had fruit salad, salad bar, grilled items with ...

... his blessing. Very powerful stuff. We did not completely understand the speech, but it was cool nevertheless. We left the square/circle (very glad I don't have to type that out again) and found signs that led us around the Vatican city walls to the North and West. When we got to the entrance of the museum, it was dead. We thought we were too late, because we knew that the doors shut a half hour before the place closed down and we had about 15 minutes until that time. However, it was ...

... half price spots! Tomorrow we have a hike in a town north of here and so we're looking forward to that. This is probably the longest entry I have written so far and you're probably wondering when it's ever going to end :) Well I'm finished now! Keep in touch and let me know how life is in Wisconsin, I'm hearing it's pretty darn cold!? I kind of happy I'm missing that, sorry to tell you it has been in the 50s here! Well stay warm and enjoy the weekend!! Ciao ciao!

... at least one of them, I knew and I had someone that I could talk to to help pass the time. For the remainder of the journey (well, while the both of us were awake) the both of us talked and reminced about old and new times. I asked her about Dijon and CIEF while she asked me about what I had been doing and as to why she hadn't seen me on campus recently. I informed her about my move to Aix and about my new life. We ...

... treasures to come over the next few days. I was most impressed by the quiet, medieval feel of the square and the black and white decor of the exterior of the church and surrounding steps. Gabe's thoughts- Signorelli's fresco of the Last Judgment was a really impressive artistic exhibition, featuring some ugly demons dishing out some graphic torture. I may have liked it better then Michelangelo's rendition because it was in a more intimate space but ...