Siena + San Gimignano

On Friday we had a class trip to Siena and San Gimignano which were both beautiful! I had a great time walking around and exploring. It was really nice to get out of Florence and see smaller Tuscan towns. I also had gelato in one of the best gelatarias in the world! (supposedly) it was pretty delicious. 

Parco delle Cascine

I went for a walk along the Arno the other day and ended up in this park. There were so many people out walking and biking it was a nice break from the city center. There was also a lovely sunset. Also the children's fun house was covered in topless women… Welcome to Italy? I'll be posting pictures from Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa soon!

Catelrotto/Kastelruth

This weekend I took the train with my housemate, Kali, to the Dolomites. It was incredible. We stayed in a little town with a very active bell tower. It felt like Austria but everyone could speak Italian, it was confusing. We hiked in the Alpe di Siusi which is one of the largest alpine meadows in the world. We had a beer and lunch at the top of a trail and then rented sleds and sledded back down the mountain. Which was really fun until I went over the bank and fell off my sled. It was still fun though. Probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Before traveling back to Florence we walked around Bolzano for a while and went to the Archeological museum which is home to the "ice man" (5300 years old preserved by a glacier: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ötzi). It was really really cool and he was preserved so well you could still see his tattoos. It was a fantastic weekend and I really want to go back again. Be prepared for lots of pictures of mountains, I couldn't pick a favorite so I just posted a bunch….

Io sono andata a Roma

I've been very bad about updating my blog… So a couple of weeks ago I went to Rome with my housemate, Nika, and had a fantastic time. I met up with some friends from Paris and we ate food and explored the city. It was pouring rain almost the entire time but we still managed to have fun. We walked all over the place and saw all the big sites. Nika and I also went to the Capuchin monastery and into the crypt which was decorated with the remains of 3,700 skeletons, it was insane. You can't take pictures so here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_Crypt. Also Nika is scared of heights and did not have a good time with the metro escalators. Rome was great and I had a really nice weekend.

Update

Hello! Sorry I haven't updated lately. Since Brussels I've been doing a lot of school work and gelato eating. I saw Madam Butterfly with my class. It's been pouring the past couple of weeks. I Went to pizza with my house for Valentine's Day. Spent some time in San Miniato al Monte which was beautiful. I pretty much walk a lot and eat a lot and I'm pretty happy about that. I hope everyone is well! I'm off to Rome!

Brussels

A couple of the girls from my program and I went to Brussels last weekend. We had a great time. I stayed at a hostel for the first time. I ate my weight in frites and had waffles twice a day (good thing we were only there for 2 days). We tried all different kinds of beer at a bar called Delirium which serves over 2,700 types of beer alone. During the day we walked all over the city and went to a chocolate museum. Overall it was a fantastic trip, minus the freezing cold wind.