School, School, School! It's funny how as soon as school starts that's what my life revolves around... Actually it's kinda sad because the fun is limited and studying always comes first! Either way, the first couple of classes has been going well. All of my professors are super chill, BUT tests start next week for me so it's time to get serious and start preparing for all of that! Our little loft has turned out magnificently and in a week Amanda and I are headed to Tennessee to meet up with the fam bam :) Dad is taking a class out there and mom is heading up to stay with him shortly. I can't wait to get away for the weekend and see this state! I feel like it's one of those places where I could stand to live so I hope it doesn't let me down :)

Since being home, I've determined that I'm not a very good blogger... Regular life is kinda boring and I don't have any amazing thoughts to share with everybody so I feel like I'm just another "boring blogger." We'll see what happens though. Maybe my life will take a turn and I'll become this awesome blogger or maybe things will start getting more interesting :)

Until then...
Buona sera <3

New song

So, not really a blog post, but I feel like this song is 100% worthy of being shared with EVERYBODY I know. Daniel sang it at church this weekend and I seriously teared up. Our God is seriously such an awesome, awesome God!

As for important life updates, Amanda and I move into our apartment on Friday! I am so incredibly excited to get settled in and have friends over! Yay :)


For the song, click on the word "music" below

Music

Sugar Land, mi amore

So I am officially home from traveling for awhile. I guess this is when real life sets in. It's nice to calm down, but a feeling I haven't dealt with in about 7 weeks. It's kind of bittersweet... I don't know yet if I like it, but I know in a day or so I'll be back to being lazy and a Texan.

After getting home from Italy, a day later I headed off to Port Aransas with Kolbe and her lovely family! We were there for about 4 days just enjoying the sun and time with everyone. It was so nice and relaxing to just sit back and read a book and catch some sun :) I saw so many dolphins and when I have the time, I'll try to upload a video of it. To go along with my dolphin watching, I'm even coming back with a nice tan. Can't complain about that!

There is so much I have to do to get ready for the start of school. I seriously don't even know where to start. But I am so excited to move into my new place with the sister and to decorate. We live so close to the park and so many other great things, so I'm expecting her to play with me a lot! Hopefully her hours for school aren't too stressful :) I think this will be a great year and that Rome was the perfect start to a great year!

So glad to be back and missing all of my new friends in Roma!
Ti amo,
T

Lasts

I am way too tired to blog right now & I have to wake up in 3 hours, so here are a couple pictures of my last day in Rome. They range from the guys at scholars, to the Milan kids in my class, to my last dinner, etc! Be back home soon!

Pistachio e bananas

Another day down! It is getting more & more realistic that I leave Saturday. I am pretty much packed and tomorrow I have my final. I am so excited to get back home & be with my family and friends, but I am also gonna miss Rome like crazy! Rome and I have definitely had our ups & downs, but at the end of the day I feel like we always go to bed happy with one another. I don't know when I'll be back here next, but I can say with certainty that I learned a lot from this place. For starters, I am 100% more sure of myself and know that I am who I say I am. I was always pretty confident in this, but since being in situations where alcohol is heavy and faith is low, I am even more confident.

Today was a long, productive, and breezy day. After class, I came home & packed everything up. I surprisingly did really good at condensing all of the stuff I brought and the stuff I bought. When packing, I got pretty anxious to get back! There is so much at home waiting for me. So many new adventures and friendships to continue to grow and develop! After packing, I headed down to school and roamed around Trastevere until some of the girls were out of class. When we were all out, we walked around Trastevere a little more & then headed to Borghese Gardens again. I don't have a final I can study for so I took a nice nap there while the others looked over notes. Around 6ish we headed back home to Gianicolense and since then, 4 of us have just been relaxing and talking. We are all such different people, but we have connected so well and formed such great relationships. There has never been an awkward moment or a time where I felt like I didn't already know these girls. I hope that our friendships continue to grow!

Tomorrow is our last night out and our last day to explore! I will definitely be taking advantage of that and eating a lot of food :)

A short list of things I love about Rome:
-WALKING!
-Gelato (pistachio, bananas, e fragola)
-meeting new people & not feeling awkward
-The Irish
-Fresh Fruit
-My roommates
-Old Italian couples
-Red Pants
-Businessmen on Vespas

La musica per "the soul"

3 Days now until I leave! The smaller the days get, the more excited I am about going home. However, I feel like it's for all of the wrong reasons that I'm so excited. I love my roommates, but 6 girls in one house is just never a very good idea. Also, it would be nice to be around southern men and women again.

Today has been good though. I haven't done much yet, but in a couple hours I'm gonna go out on the town. There is a nice breeze going on here & I am currently sitting on our wrap-around balcony stealing wifi :) I guess I should update y'all on the speech competition. I tied for 2nd place out of 13 contestants, so I feel like that is pretty good. The kid I predicted to win first place did! He is from Milan and is an awesome writer & speaker so I wasn't surprised at all!

Tonight, Natalie, me, and possibly some other people are going to dinner on the Tiber River. I'm pretty excited about this because I think I've determined that the Tiber is my favorite landmark in Rome. It took me awhile to come to this conclusion, but it definitely has a strong place in my heart. The Tiber separates Trastevere (where I live) and the city/monuments of Rome. At night it is beautifully lit & from high landmarks the thing looks amazing!

Well, I should go focus on packing some more. I am pretty much all packed up, but I am currently waiting for some more clothes to dry. So soon I will be back in the land of REAL mexican food & bbq! I can't wait.

Ti amo,
Tay

Italian Oldies

Does this picture make anybody else as happy as it makes me? I love to see these old men sporting their fashion. They are so well dressed and look so adorable and sophisticated. I really wish that men in America were brave enough to try some of the fashion styles that the men try here! For example, the picture of the glasses. I love them!

So as of right now, it is still pretty early here in Rome! I've been to class, stopped by the melon boys (I was asked to kiss them AGAIN!), and am now home cooking lunch. It's a really pretty day out right now & I'm in a really good mood! As for tonight, I am a part of a speech competition...GO ME! haha or as Kolbe told me last night, NERD ALERT! About the speech though...My teacher works for the FAO and being in a speech class, she has asked us all to participate. The first round was for a grade & now we have to compete for the number 1 spot. Personally though, I'm just glad that tonight is replacing my last speech and I'm pretty sure I already know who will win.

I go back to Texas now in officially 4 days! Crazy talk! And then I start school and Amanda graduates in December! Life is moving so fast hahah but I'm excited to get back to my "other life" and to see my family, friends and Kala (the girl I mentor) and go explore Houston some more!

A domani,
T

Home Sweet Rome

Wow!! I actually leave to go back to Texas in 5 days! I seriously can't wrap my head around that. It feels like I just got here and like I have so much more I need to do and see. It's funny because even 6 weeks isn't enough to see all that you want to see in Rome, let alone Italy or Europe. I'm excited for what the future holds though. I'm excited to get back to Texas & move into my new apartment, I'm excited to make decisions about working in the school year, I'm excited to start applying for internships, and I'm even a little excited to start classes. However, I'm really sad about leaving this city. I'm not really a city girl, but in some crazy way, I've fallen in love with this place & how active I am here. I could never live here for several reasons I won't go into on here, but I feel as if it's home after a long weekend & that's more than I could ever say about Waco and Baylor.

This weekend helped me to appreciate the city and living here more. I was so busy every day, but I wouldn't change that. I love that I always have something to do here & don't have to worry about wasting gas money :) Here's a breakdown of what I've been awful at posting...Hopefully this week I can try to write each day, but we will see.

Thursday: After completing my third speech of the summer session, I was really needing a break from all things school. Therefor, I crossed over the Tiber and went into the city. I was able to go off and explore by myself which was really nice & refreshing. I purposely got lost in the city, going down back allies and never worrying about if I'd find my way out. I would usually be nervous in this situation, but in Rome everything is different. I was totally at peace and eventually I ended up in Piazza Navona. I finished the day with some shopping and going to Scholars with Natalie. We both got fruity drinks that were amazing! Mine had strawberry, pineapple, and other fruits. We headed home pretty early because our next day was gonna be early.

Friday: On Friday, Natalie, Paulina, and I headed off to Milano! We caught the fast train at 8am and met a really nice Canadian that had been backpacking throughout Europe. He shared his stories with us and showed me all of his pictures from Ireland. He told me it was the prettiest and friendliest country he'd been too! I'm thinking this whole moving there thing is looking better & better.

At around 11, we finally arrived at the train station where we caught the metro to the duomo. The duomo was gorgeous and was by far my favorite in Italy! The architecture is unbelievable and from the roof, you feel God's beauty! If I lived there, I'm pretty sure the 5 euro to the top would be a frequent trip for me. As for the rest of the day, we went to Castello Sforzesco and did a lot of shopping! Of course I bought a couple of things and ate way too much gelato, but the whole day was completely worth it and I'm glad we went. We got back home to Rome around 10:30pm.

Saturday: Well this was another early morning. On Saturday, all of my roomies minus two headed off to Sperlonga, a Roman beach, about 1.5 hours from the city. In Sperlonga, we were able to relax and catch up on sleep. I took several little naps this day and people watched like crazy! The families are so entertaining to watch. Nobody cares how they look as long as they're getting their tan on. The little girls run around topless and everybody is having the time of their lives. There are a lot of traits that America could benefit from here. After a couple hours, we walked around the city. It consisted of a lot of stairs, but after awhile we made it to the top and were able to see the view of the city. The water was so blue & the town was so peaceful. The rest of the night we spent back in Rome. We got dinner at da'Tony's! It was amazing!

Sunday: I headed off to the Porta Portese market with the girls. It was a lot more crowded this week than last week but that's because it was a couple hours later. There was so much to look at and a lot to buy if you were looking for little trinkets. Nat is the only one that bought anything and she got a little espresso maker for pretty cheap. The rest of the day Paulina, Natalie, and I walked around the city. We took a break on some grass near the Tiber and were able to people watch and nap. Like usual, we finished our day by going to karaoke at Scholars. We sang "I want you to want me!" I'm seriously going to miss this place and I honestly feel like these guys have become my "friends." This is by far one of my favorite places in Rome and I will miss the environment and the workers who have opened up their hearts to us and have watched over us while in Rome.

With all of that being said, I still can't believe how fast the time has gone by! I'm hoping mom has some nice Mexican food waiting for me for dinner when I get home or that we at least go to Chuy's after church on Sunday! I am so carbed up and need something to eat besides pasta (but I do LOVE pasta)!

Can't wait to see you all!
A presto :)
T

Slacking

So I'm becoming quite the blog slacker... I'm very sorry about that. Unfortunately, I'm leaving Rome very very soon! It's amazing how fast the time flew by here. Although I'm really excited to go home and see my family and Fabian, I know that I am going to miss Rome like crazy! I feel like I've been living here for years and that this is my city. I'm gonna miss the public transportation, all of the walking, the amazing sites as I go shopping, the dogs that walk everywhere, the vespas, etc! There are so many great things about Rome & for those of you that have been and have only been here for a week or a couple of days, that seriously isn't enough time for this city!!

Now to my eventful and filled weekend! I love the weekends here! They're so relaxing and always filled with something to do. Here's the breakdown of everything I've been doing:

Thursday: I had a really relaxing day/night. After getting out of class, I just hung out with the roommates, we went shopping, and had dinner. A little later at night, 3 of us went for a walk around the city to see the Spanish Steps. They were just as crowded as they were in the day, but I'm glad that we took the time out to see how they appear at nighttime.

Friday: Friday was an early morning! Me, my roommate, and 2 of the boys we have class with headed to the Vatican Museums on this day. At about 10ish we finally got through all of the lines and were able to get into the museum. There is a lot to do in here, but of course the main attraction was the Sistine chapel. It's crazy to see all of these paintings because I spent all of last semester studying them. The creation of Adam was insane! I seriously can't wrap my head around Michelangelo and his talent. The second main painting I wanted to see at the museum was Raphael's "school of Athens." However, we got lost about 5 times in the museum and had to give up. We were very American after that and decided to get lunch at burger king.

After lunch, I met up with my other roommates and we headed over to Castel Sant'Angelo. This museum was very simple, but the building was gorgeous and had an amazing view of the city! I love all of the scenery views.

Saturday: Oh gosh, what did I do Saturday?! OH yes, this was an amazing day! First off, I woke up and worked on my midterm for a little bit. We had all agreed that today would be a very chill and relaxing day and it really was. Around 1, we left the house to go get lunch at a cute cafe. The food was great and very reasonable. After, we got on the bus and headed to the Borghese gardens. These gardens are so relaxing and beautiful! I was able to take a nice nap there because the breeze from the trees was so pretty. After, we headed to get some gelato, which I somehow got for free because the guy gave me my money right back! I don't know what I'm gonna do without my Italian ice cream and Italian pizza... The rest of the night was relaxing too. I went to the Steeler's bar with my roommates for a little while and then after that we headed home to sleep.

Sunday: This was a very long, but great day! At around 6, 3 of us headed to the flea market to check that out. I will definitely need to go back because we didn't have enough time. At 8, we headed to Ostia to go to Faber Beach. It was such a pretty day there and all of the Italian families were out. Its great to see these families. The little boys run around in their speedos and the little girls run around topless! I swear they live the life :) We eventually headed home, I finished my midterm, and then later that night we went to Scholar's. It was karaoke night and we were forced to sing. We sang Bennie and the Jets and No Scrub! It was a lot of fun :)

As for the rest of the week, we are trying to get as much done as we can! Hennah and I listed all of the things we still want to do and the list is sooo long! Sadly, most of it is food :) Ill probably gain weight these next couple days...

Buona sera!
T

Cafe Freddo

I'm Cafe sitting right now and I must admit, it feels so nice and relaxing to just be outside watching all of the locals go back and forth. It's crazy though because I'm kind of a local now too... I have places that are my places & stores that I love to go to & sights that are heart warming! It's almost like I'm back home driving past the old sugar mill. That thing warms my heart :)

Today has been kind of a crazy day for me though. I have a big speech tomorrow on a topic that is very important to me, adoption. It is so hard to explain the Ivey's story in this speech because I have such little time & their story seriously needs at least an hour or so. Plus I also have to incorporate other important facts & statistics as well. I hope that it goes well & that I don't get too nervous. I think I'll be ok.

But back to Rome, I seriously wish that those of you back home could be here with me & that we could all live here for a couple of weeks together. I have learned a lot about myself already & I know for sure now that I am not the type of person to give in or back down. I am still me with the same me mentalities. I can have fun by myself & I REALLY enjoy being alone from time to time!

I have officially decided that my next place to visit is Ireland. I think my heart belongs there. I love Rome and Italy of course, but I feel a strong pull to Ireland & more & more things are making that more obvious to me as I'm here!

Sorry this blog post is super random & completely not on a specific topic at all! Welcome to what happens to me after a long week of heat, heat, and more heat!

"I thank God I miss you!"
-Ben Rector-

Beach Bums, Bruised Bums

So since it is so flippen hot in Rome right now, I am having a very hard time concentrating on my speech about adoption that I have to do on Thursday. With that being said, I thought this would be a perfect time to actually sit down and tell y'all about my amazing weekend in the Amalfi Coast!! I'm gonna break it down day by day so that it's easier to follow :) The pictures above are of me jumping off a cliff, the Capri view, & the blue grotto.

Thursday: Ok so on Thursday we (Hennah, Paulina, & I) were supposed to meet at the train station at 5pm to head to the Amalfi Coast, but the company pushed our time back to 11pm. With all this free time, we spent our day shopping all over Rome. I was able to get a lot of souvenirs for the family & am now officially done buying for the parents, Amanda, & Spark plug. At 9pm, we headed to the bus to get to the train station. Getting there early, we grabbed a second dinner because as most of you know, I like my food! We then met up with the tour guide where we met another group of students from Rome. There was about 8 or 9 of them and they all go to Penn State!! Crazy :)  They are all seriously so sweet & we plan on hanging out with them more now that we're back in Rome.

Getting on the bus, we were greeted by the students that were traveling from Firenze. Most of the students studying in Florence were from Jersey & then there was one from Brasil. With 4 hrs of driving to the coast, I spent my time sleeping & at 3am we arrived at 7 Hostels in Sorrento. The hostel was super gorgeous & not the typical sketchy hostel you hear about in movies,etc.

Friday: With Friday coming after only 4 hrs in a bed, we got up and headed off to Capri!! Capri was the only place in Italy that I had a strong desire to go to, so I was very excited for this day.

To get to Carpi, we had to take a ferry. We could see all of the Italian houses & it was nice to catch some wind. On the ferry, we stopped first at the blue grotto. I don't have the most technical definition to explain the blue grotto, so the picture above will explain it the clearest. The grotto is cave like & you have to take a small boat of 4 inside. The boat drivers get you into the cave, paddle you around for like 5 minutes, & then take you back out to the ferry. It was an amazing experience & although it is a little pricey for 5ish minutes, it is worth seeing once!

After the blue grotto, we finally made it to the Island of Capri!!! Here we walked uphill for about 40 minutes to get to the shops & restaurants. The view was crazy & it was incredibly hot! However, every minute was worth it! Up near the shops, we saw sandal shops where you could hand pick your own sandals, taste limoncello, & eat some amazing seafood. After this, we spent the last 2-3 hours on the beach. Our Rome group joined with the other group, getting to know each other better. The night ended with a restaurant in Sorrento & an English Pub/Club.

Saturday: On Saturday we were off to Positano! It's amazing how the views & the scenery kept getting prettier! God was everywhere here & I truly believe that the ocean is one of the greatest gifts he has ever given to me! I am so content & at peace in the water.

In Positano, our whole day was spent on the beaches & then shopping for a few hours. We stayed on the public beach for the first half of the day & then took a boat tour over to a more secluded piece of beach. Here we went cliff jumping! I had agreed to do the 35ft cliff with a couple of the guys & was determined to not back down...so I didn't! However, I have bruises all down my legs for hitting the water so hard. The wind & girls that aren't solid muscle don't mix well together, but it was totally worth it! While we were at this secluded beach at least 3 of our people got stung by jelly fish & being completely comfortable with everyone after a day, people were peeing on each other to get rid of the pain.

At night, we had dinner & drinks at the hostel on the terrace rooftop. The view was beautiful & it was relaxing to stay in for the night.

Sunday: Sunday was the last day of this amazing adventure! I was seriously so sad to leave these people that I had known for like 2 days haha. Before heading home, we stopped off in Pompeii. I didn't actually go into the ruins because I felt like I had spent too much money already this weekend so instead, we stayed outside & spent MORE money! It's funny how that works out haha. But at least I was able to get Amanda's gift here & a pretty ring for myself.

At 4ish, we headed back to Rome where we said goodbye to our new Brasilian friend & caught the 64 bus back with our new Roman friends. Later that night, we went to Karaoke at Scholar's and had a blast!!

As for this week, the weekend can't come soon enough! I am already ready for a break from school & the heat :) I will write more later in the week. I miss all of y'all!

Ti amo,
T

La Dolce Vita

Well this week has been crazy and will only get crazier!! School has been busy & I've been successfully trying to finish up all of the little things to do in Rome. However, I think the list is getting longer rather than shorter because there is always something new to do!

This week I had my first speech, which was an informative one. I talked about my brain surgery & what it was that I had to get done. The other kids seemed to enjoy & my teacher had positive feedback so I'm hoping for a good grade :) As for going out & seeing more of the town, I was able to head over to the Vatican yesterday with some friends. Unfortunately, the Sistine Chapel was closed for the day (we'll go back next week), but we were able to do St. Peter's. St. Peter's was seriously crazy! I know I've been there before, but you appreciate stuff like that a lot more when you're older & understand. While we were there, I made everybody walk to the top (551 stairs) instead of taking the elevator. I promised them that they wouldn't regret it, but I think some of them might. However though, the view was completely gorgeous & if we didn't have other plans for the rest of the day, I could have stayed up there forever! The city looked so peaceful from up high & oddly, you could still pick out the places you had been to. Rome is seriously a great place to explore & walk around & I'll miss that greatly when I have to leave in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of walking & exploring, if you ever wanna lose weight, walk everywhere! All of my clothes are now too big & my legs, arms, body are all losing weight :) I am definitely NOT complaining about that though :)

Tonight, I head off to the Amalfi Coast & Capri! Capri is the only place I REALLY wanted to visit while here, so I can't wait to get there! I will write once home & settled in. I miss Texas & will miss Rome this weekend, they are now my two homes!

Ciao miei belle!

Under the Tuscan Sun

So it is my first official weekend here in Italy where I am able to travel & do whatever it is that I want to do. Yesterday, a bunch of the girls went up to Tuscany! Some are staying for the whole weekend & also hitting up Venice & Florence, but since I just did all of that, I only went to Tuscany for the day and then came home. I must say that Tuscany is seriously gorgeous! And if I was to move to Italy, this is definitely where I would go!! I love the rolling hills, the view, the flowers, & the small town feeling. While we were in Tuscany for the day, we got to do A LOT of eating! I can't comprehend how Italians stay thin and healthy when they are eating the way they do daily. Here is the breakdown of our day...

1. We met up with La Dolce Vita Style (the company we went through to do our trip) at 7am

2. Around 9:45ish we arrived in the Town of Pienza where the 2nd Pope came from. Here we walked around on our own & were able to see a beautiful view. The town only had a few roads. Some of which included the Road of Luck, the Road of Love, & the Road of Kissing. We chose the Road of Love.

3.We got back on the bus & headed to the town of Montepulciano. Here we got to go in a medieval wine cellar, & taste cheese and wine. I'm obviously not an expert on wine or any alcohol, but this was definitely the best red wine (Vino Rosso) I've ever had! In this same town, we were able to walk around on our own & explore. Montepulciano is also the town where the ending of New Moon was filmed. However, our tour guide didn't mention that until the end so I wasn't able to see the Piazza.

4. Lastly, we went to a farmhouse where we had a 5 course dinner/lunch. The food was really great! But again, I still can't understand how they continue to each this much daily!

As the day wound down, 3 of us (the ones not staying the whole weekend) were put on a train back to Rome. Unfortunately though, we had to wait a couple hours because the trains were on strike until 6pm and wouldn't be running until afterward. These strikes are probably the craziest thing about Italy and they take them like Americans take recess! Which is basically whenever they want to! In the end, It all worked out though and today (Saturday), I am hoping to go to one of the beaches of Rome, & then on Sunday into the Colosseum. I miss all of you like crazy & am missing Texas more than I thought I would!

Above are pictures of the view & wine cellars, etc

Buon giorno,
T

La Scuola

Well the first day of class is done & I am now working on homework. No worries, nothing too challenging just yet! I am taking Public Speaking & as of today my class has only 11 students. I'm really glad it is a small class because it won't be as awkward to get up in front of everyone & talk about yourself. There are several Italians in my class so I'm hoping I can become friends with them & practice my speaking. As for my first speech, I have to give one on Thursday & it's about me. That can't be too hard right? I don't really have too much to type about today. I was able to talk to my family on skype & on the phone, which was really really nice! I'm pretty homesick but as long as I stay busy I do pretty well. And also, tonight my roommate, Vanessa, is gonna cook us Tortilla soup at a friend's house. As if it isn't hot enough without the soup! But I'm still pretty excited & know it will be yummy!

I'm attaching a video/link that I feel is pretty accurate about Italy. For those of you that have traveled here, I hope that you will be able to agree :)

I will write at the end of the week or sooner! I hope all is well for everyone.

Buona Sera (Have a good evening)
Tay

Exhausted

Wow I'm exhausted!! These couple days since my parents left me in Rome have been filled with adventure & craziness! My feet & body are slowly getting used to walking like crazy, but I'm still sore & tired after the long days. The weather here has been pretty warm, but not nearly as warm as Texas. However, we don't have AC in our apartment so there's no escaping the heat & humidity. So now to what I've been doing...

I'm going to break it up into days because it's easier to do that than paragraph form:
-Thursday & Friday we had orientation through the University. We got to see all of the campus, explore Trastevere (the part of Rome where we live), get our school ID's, & meet some new people. At night we've been crossing over the Tiber River and going exploring in the city. We got to see Campo dei fiori & Piazza Navona. They are both beautiful & I personally prefer them more in the day than at night.

-Saturday & Sunday (today) I went on free tours through the university. On Saturday we toured the Fountains of Rome. Our tour guide showed & taught us about some of the buildings & then took us past some of the fountains & Trevi. Trevi is gorgeous, I just wish it wasn't so crowded all of the time. We ended up losing our tour guide so once that happened, we went to lunch where I got lasagna for 5 euros & then went shopping. Today we went on a tour of Ancient Rome. It was a lot of fun & totally worth it. We got to see practically all of Rome! I swear in these two days I've walked more than 10 miles. I hope I come back in super great shape!! After the tour, we went shopping. We were seriously out walking for 8 hours...INSANE!!

Tomorrow we start class. I hope that I like it & that the school load isn't too intense! I'll blog soon! The pictures are of some of my roommates & me and then the Colosseum. I hope you enjoy!

Ciao,
T

Roaming around Rome

So I've made it to my new apartment & so far things are off to a great start! The first couple of days in Rome I was with my family & we got to walk around & shop which was nice and relaxing. On Wednesday though, I headed off to my new apartment! I went to the SAI office & got my keys & cell phone! So if you are willing to pay to call me, just facebook me or email me for the number :) In my apartment, there are 5 other girls besides me. We have 3 rooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, & place for a table. It is completely different from America, but it's cute and warming minus the whole NO AC.

Breakdown for what we've been doing:
-The first day after arriving, I unloaded all of my luggage & settled in. After doing that, we headed off to venture around our part of town. We aren't in the city & honestly we aren't even very close to it. However, we are surrounded by Italians & in the part of town where everybody lives. After figuring out where we were, we found a pretty good restaurant where we all got pizza! They were seriously huge, but so yummy. After that, we headed to get gelato where one of the workers gave us a drink for free. The place was packed, so I guess that means we picked a good one. Lastly, we headed home & relaxed on the computer, getting to know each other, & figuring out how to get to campus the next day.

-Today we had a mandatory meeting at John Cabot University. We went over expectations for Italy & how we should behave & safety instructions. Then Lisa, the department head, took us from the one campus to the other which was about a 15 minute walk. After, we went back to the first campus where we got our photo ID's taken & signed up for some field trips. Since then we have eaten lunch & walked around a lot!! I am so tired, but know that if I sleep I probably won't wake up for a long time. Later this evening, SAI is providing us with a complimentary dinner which includes 5 courses! I'm gonna be so full!

Well I'm off for now! The pictures I'm putting up are of my bedroom (I'm the back bed) and my school (a patio that we have in the center), so enjoy!

Siena!

So I am officially in Rome & I thought that I would quickly update about our quick trip to Siena! I will write about Rome soon, but I'm going to wait until I've moved into my apartment & have gotten settled in a little bit more.

So on to Siena....
Siena is seriously gorgeous! We took a bus to get there, which was a first for this trip. The bus passed through all of the beautiful Tuscan fields which included flowers and beautiful houses that could be found everywhere! When we got into Siena, we checked into the hotel. When we first entered, the place looked a little questionable but with a couple more steps, the hotel was perfect! The view seriously showed all of Siena & had windows on every wall! The above picture is a view from our windows. After settling in, we headed towards Il Duomo. In the Duomo we were actually able to take pictures which was a nice change. It was so elaborate, but incredibly pretty. It's amazing to see all of the hard work & planning put into these buildings!

The rest of the night we spent walking around, looking at the scenery, eating, & shopping. I got this super cute, trendy outfit that all of the Italian girls are wearing! I can't wait to finally wear it (I'll put a picture up once I do). To end this short but pretty day, we went to my FAVORITE restaurant thus far. The name was Osteria Boccon del Prete & the owner was so warming. The food was delicious! On that note, I have done a great job of trying something different at each "ristorante" & "gelaterria" I go to.

Rome blogs will come soon, but until then..
Buona notte i miei amici!

Firenze e Pisa

So my time with my family in Italy is slowly winding down. We have just left Firenze (Florence), which was another great trip filled with way too much walking! I seriously think that I will be permanently sore for the rest of my life! My knees are swollen & my hips & ankles hurt (which isn't new to many of you)! Florence was completely different than Venice & I must say that Venice completely kicked the poor butt of Florence. Although Florence was great, the people were in too big of a hurry & the workers weren't very friendly. They very rarely let you speak Italian & when they did, they pretended like they didn't know what you were saying... tricky!! However, aside from the people, we were able to see some really amazing things & go on a very lengthy tour of Florence & it's museums! I also was able to sneak a picture of the beautiful REAL sculpture of David!! Here's the breakdown of our activities...

Day one: we arrived in Florence & checked in at our Hotel which is super cute & reminds me of my Nanny. We quickly left to catch a train to Pisa. In Pisa, we got lost for awhile, but quickly made our way to the leaning tower, where hundreds of people were snapping pictures. Although you only need an evening to go see the tower, I am VERY glad we went! It was completely worth it! After that, we headed back to Florence and went to the most precious restaurant called I'cche c'e c'e which means, "Whatever there is, there is." It is a small restaurant run by a husband & wife in their 60s. They are seriously the most precious people & have the cutest names, Mara & Gino!

Day two: We did a walking tour of what felt like ALL of Florence. We began our day off visiting and learning about some of the Palazzos, the Medici family, & visiting a couple of churches. That part of the tour was wrapped up with the Duomo (which was unfortunately closed when we went because of church). It was seriously crazy to see up close because it was so elaborate. We then got a lunch break & quickly had to meet up for our next tour which took us to the Uffizzi Gallery. Our tour guide was a little ehh, and I had a hard time paying attention because I had just learned everything she was talking about last semester in art history(see mom, I do listen in class). So I basically wandered around the room looking at other paintings or sat on a bench because my feet were dying. Lastly, we went to the Galleria dell'Accademia, which is now the home of the famous David statue! Our tour guide here was great & super sweet! I must say this was the best part of the day for me because I love love love this piece! I think if I went back again, I'd spend a whole day there just staring at him! On a plus, I was able to sneak a picture of him because nobody was patrolling.

Next stop Siena! I can't wait to get there & see another beautiful city! I know it will be a super busy day because we aren't there for very long but I'm sure it will be great! After that, Roma, my new home.

Ciao e Buona notte!

Venezia & the start of Roma

So we just officially finished up our third and last night in Venice! It has been so much fun and filled with endless activities! I am seriously so exhausted & officially too old for my age. For starters, we arrived in Rome on Wednesday the 23rd, where we quickly took a taxi to SAI and dropped off my suitcase that I will have for my time in school. After, we rushed to the train station & got on the next train out to Venice! Trains are seriously so awesome! I really wish Texas had some we could ride.

While in Venice we have been doing things literally all day long. Our first day we arrived around 4pm & had a relaxing evening. We went to our bed & breakfast & got our room which is super cute & cozy. We quickly left & began taking hundreds of pictures, went to get gelato (yumm!), ate pizza (which is so much better than America), & walked around exploring.

On day two, we we did more touristy things. We went to San Marco basilica, Campanille di San Marco (a big bell tower), the Guggenheim collection, and then followed it up with a canal tour. We ate at this great restaurant that our bed & breakfast host, Marco, recommended to us. The restaurant, Ae Oche, was in a part of Venice that didn't have as many tourists & our waiter didn't know very good English. Therefore, I was able to practice my Italian & I must say, I was pretty proud of myself! Every time he came over to the table, he would always talk to me & expect me to be the one to translate & help. It was a good feeling :)

On day three (Today), we headed back over to the area of San Marco. Mom & Dad went off to a museum and Amanda & I decided to just walk around & look at some shops for fun. We had a lot of time to spare & like no money so we ended up resting in "un parco pubblico" for a while. Later, we headed to Murano, which is best known for their glass blowing. We got to visit a lot of shops with beautiful glass art & even got to see some of their workshops. However, nobody was working around the time we went. To end the day, we got gelato, went to dinner (where the cutest Italian guy worked), and went on a gondola ride. The ride was really great and relaxing minus the driver talking about us, not knowing that I could translate some things he said. The ride was definitely a must do (but only once)!

Overall, I loved Venice and would totally come back. Tomorrow we are headed off to Florence (Firenze) where we will have many many more adventures.

Some bullet points about specific things I remembered to note during the days:
-our B&B is located in the old Jewish ghetto
-there are nuns everywhere & it's pretty humorous to see them driving tiny little cars.
-The fashion here is so awesome! I love how the guys dress (red pants & red shoes are now a must for my future hubby)
-Aunt Sandy, I spent your money already and got a vase & a necklace! Grazie :)
-I'm not too awful at Italian & can't wait to practice more!

Ciao America, Bonjourno Italia!

So this is it, I am officially now a "blogger"...WEIRD! But on an even weirder note, I will be an Italian in just a couple of days!

As I kept telling people that I would be studying in Italy this summer, it never really sank in that I would actually BE in Italy! However, now that I am beginning to lay out clothes and get packed up, I am very quickly beginning to realize that I will indeed be in Italy or according to Italians, ITALIA! I won't lie, I am filled with almost every emotion right now. I am very excited, anxious, scared & even homesick...already! With all of these emotions stirring inside though, I still can't wait to finally arrive in this beautiful country, travel with my family for a week, and then head off to Rome to become a Roman student (That has a great ring to it)! In all of this crazy adventure though, some things are higher on my list than others. As of right now, here are some top goals/wants for my Italian adventures...

1.Improve my Italian
2.Visit Michelangelo's David (after studying this piece in art history this semester, I am amazed & in love with this sculpture)
3.Take in the pretty & see all the beauty God has created here(buildings, food, people, landscape)

I hope that these blogs will help for some of y'all to keep up to date with my adventures! I hope to write fairly often and upload a couple of pictures here & there. If you have facebook, look for more there :)


"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."