Il Vichiaccio San Casciano in Val di Pesa

... loved. The price was a little high, so I left and looked around a little more, then decided on the highest price I would pay for the purse that I had wanted. I went back and offered, but they said they couldn’t go that low, but countered with a price only 5 euros more than I had wanted to spend- SOLD. Ok I know I said that’s as high as I wanted to go, but 5 euros more isn’t much, and it was Italian leather, made in Florence, and a ...

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

... with the O'Calahans, Orrs, Harpers and Ina. We had a competition where some riders told a story explaining the empty farm houses in the valleys that we rode pass. The evening concluded after dinner when we retired to our rooms.

Italy Day 14

We rose this morning and had breakfast with the Orrs. Today was planned off day with everyone taking a bus into Siena for a day of touring. Kathie and I had a head start from the day before but joined in for the tour also ...

... stand right around the corner from our apartment that stays open at least until 3, which is good because when you're barefoot on the streets of Florence, you definitely need a hot sandwich! The lady that ran the stand had tons of business going at 3am.....now other vendors (cough cough icecream stores) need to catch on and just stay open all night for hungry students.... 3. Being in the company of someone ...

... class has such privileges when traveling abroad. It's just the simple truth. Money sometimes buys time. Though Ben and I can attest to the fact that time does not buy money. We have roamed this amazing planet for 5 continents now and have yet to find the fabled money tree or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or the pirate treasure under the sea. The David was awesome. I missed it on my last trip to Florence. And though we've seen a lot of art and ruins in the last week ...

... Next, we arrived at the Piazza della Signoria to view replica statues of The Rape of the Sabine Women, another David, and Neptune to name a few. Our tour guide left us but we then went over for tours at Coi Gold Factory and a leather factory. After some shopping at the leather factory, we grabbed some lunch and ate it ...

... old cathedral. The cathedral is still used today, and we backpackers on our way to the hostel were walking amonst random priests. The convent itself was built in the year 800 A.D. Our room looked exactly like what I had pictured a nunnery room looking like: solid wood doors and windows, stark white walls, high ceilings and tile floors. The hallways were very long and dark and creepy. Shannon was certain that we'd be visited ...

... and as the cool air for the day brushed passed my face i couldnt help but look out over the city in such amazement and feeling of excitement... Well... rest not! Us 4 warriors kicked on eventually to go see a bit more of the city and get lost for a while before heading back to the hostel that night. Well - none of us were in a heaps pumped up mood for the night, so we did all our washing. For once i got to use a washing machine and didn't have to take it ...