Villa Albizi Gaiole in Chianti

... 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 ...

... 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

Siena photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album. php?aid=164853&id=613699523&l=d 7d2db6b42

Thursday caught a bus to Siena with Nonie and Kerrin.
The Duomo there is one of the best and most beautiful churches I've seen inside and out - and I've seen more than enough churches to last ...

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

... conversation with us and found that she was an American who had been living in Siena for 10 years. We asked her what made her stay and she said that she had fallen in love with an Italian. She added that she had a circle of American girlfriends all of whom had married Italians. This gave Kathie more fuel to her worries about Rachel doing the same thing if she took a trip to Italy.

Once back in Arbia, we rested, went to the wine party near the pool then onto dinner. We had ...

... and tagliatelli pasta (which is a very FAT noodle= with the porcinin mushroom sauce. This was a HEAVENLY meal. The fresh pasta was unreal. And we had a special guest chef today that led our class. He was quite demanding, but also very sweet. He would bark orders at us in Italian quickly and we would try to figure out what he needed and try to meet his demands (typical male, huh...). Then the rest of the family from Connecticut came to ...

... what they liked and didn't like about that day's cooking class, and especially the guests. It was quite funny. They were quizzing me for additional information that I had picked up on during the class. They were quite fascinated by the in vitro twins, and the divorced father who was trying to figure out how to kill his ex-wife. He was JUST JOKING: Not so funny though I suppose.... I learned the family's name is not Le Rose, it is de ...

... girls to show up. It turned out that the watch they had bought on the street in Milan wasn't keeping time, so they thought they were on time. Luca came back for us and we all grabbed lunch and then took a cab to our hotel. We stayed in an old convent that has been converted to a conference center. It is a pretty nice place. I checked my email at the business center in the hotel. I took ...

... great story of how one can turn their life around. In addition to quitting smoking, he lost over 100 pounds and says he feels like he is 30 again. This is as powerful a testimony for exercise as I have ever heard, and the entire group is moved by his awe-inspiring account. On one late afternoon I had the opportunity to ride with him for several miles and I can tell you, if I am in half the shape at 63 years old as he is now, I will be happy. One of the highlights of the trip turns out ...

... from Somerset, New Jersey, and so we had something to chat about while I tried to get a good price on a leather jacket. I tried on a dark brown leather jacket, it went a little past my waste, and was partially fitted in the waste. Also, I liked the shoulders because they were nice and round, shorter jackets usually look boxy on me, so the rounded shoulders take away from that. Anyway, it felt like butter (as my Dad would say), and smelled like good leather ...