La Buca De Montauto San Gimignano

... 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 ...

... 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

... 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 ...

Today we hiked up a hill to San Gimignano. It was an amazing sight to see. As we walked along the hill, we saw the 14 towers of San Gimignano from the same perspective that the pilgrims saw as they walked up -- with one major difference, they saw 70 towers. While there we shopped for souvenirs, ate ...

Valentine's day in Florence. This was our museum day. We gathered after breakfast in our usual place on the street corner outside our breakfast cafe. Then we went to the Galleria dell'Accademia. This is a tiny little museum but it is famous because it is where Michelangelo's David is housed. The first room we went into had the famous "Rape of the Sabine Women" statue. This was in the middle of the room and there were religious paintings on all the walls ...

... plenty of time. As usual, the departure board did not indicate Zurich but instead another city along the way- but we had learned to cross reference the departure time and train number instead of relying on that. Our train was an older train as most of the TrenItalia trains are and our overnight compartment was even smaller than the last one bud did contain a sink. We learned how to creatively take a shower in a sink after sweating all day in the Florence sun before going to sleep. Goodbye Italy! :(

... if they're watching "Pimp my Car" and "Dukes of Hazzard". I just spent the evening wandering around the town. There's some really nice park areas up near the top, surrounded by what was apparently a castle-like fortress at one time. From there are the best views of the Tuscan country below. For dinner, I stopped in for some pizza at a little pizzeria, then headed to my room for a nice quiet sleep (no cars or noisy tourists here). Tomorrow, I head out to see Siena.

... the square center. Well he was the same color as the Statue of Liberty. I said that David knocked up lady liberty and this was their offspring. Look at the photo...that's what he really looks like. After the square, we walked up more steps until we finally made it to the church. The church was very pretty for some reason, we just left the main duomo in the center of Florence, but I found this church to be more beautiful. It was a Sunday, and there weren't many tourist up ...