Firenze!

We went to Florence this past weekend for one of our excursions included in the API program. I absolutely love it there! Florence is gorgeous and I highly recommend going. There is so much to see and do there. We didn't even get to see all the museums and such but we did get to go to the famous leather market... That took up most of our time and I am very happy with my purchase (a teeny tiny strap of leather, promise).

API provided us with transportation to and from Florence which was really great - definitely stress free. The majority of the group didn't enjoy that too much because they went to the Tiesto concert the night before (Tiesto is some really famous techno/rave DJ). I really like that API always organizes the walking tours for us because they are a great way to learn about the city  (usually I don't listen too intently or I try to and am excited I'm learning all this new information but then 30 minutes later I forget it). The first thing we got to marvel over was the Duomo which honestly looks fake. It is absolutely breathtaking. It reminded me of Despicable Me and the pyramid. I just wanted to take a needle, poke and it watch it deflate. I could of stared at it all day if I had the chance. We didn't go inside the actual church and our guide told us that the outside is the part to see. I didn't take too many pictures from the tour because I was just enjoying the views (and sorry for the lack of artsy-ness - there just isn't enough time!)

So beautiful

 Inside the Church of Orsanmichele. I may or may not have gotten in trouble for taking this picture. Warning signs should be in Italian and English. 

One of the leather markets. Smells sooooo good

Stumbled upon this slice of beauty :)

 Here are a bunch of statues. There were very beautiful but maybe a little too detailed :)

After the tour, we did a little shopping. It was a nice and relaxing afternoon. We came across Zara and it is just so hard to go in there. Then we all got dressed up and went to one of the restaurants that our program managers called ZaZa's. It was one of the best dinners I've ever had and definitely was the best dinner in Italy. They actually had fettucine alfredo. I have yet to see chicken parmigiana. 

 Malissa, Blondie, Leslie, Alycia, Chelsea, Caroline, Chelsey, Daniel and Ben

Chels had a bunch of friends studying in Firenze so we met up with them! He is one of them - that is why I explained :)

Whoop! Aggies really dominate this session. 

Friday was a really fun night. Chels and I topped it off with late night gelato. Leslie said she knew I was grubbing on gelato when she heard someone order mint and chocolate from across the room (mint/chocolate shout out to Stephers - you would fall in love it's so amazing). Well, I'll write about our Jersey Shore filled Saturday and Sunday in the next post!

Love you and miss you!

The X Games of Villa Borghese

Classes were cancelled last Thursday for the The Festa della Repubblica. The Festa della Repubblica is celebrated in Rome and across Italy each year on 2 June. The public holiday commemorates the June referendum in 1946 when Italians voted to exile the monarchy in favor of a republican form of government (that information was in the email sent to us by our program managers). We went to the parade to soak up some real Italian culture but of course we had no idea what was really going on. After a while we decided to embrace the day and go have a couple drinks and a picnic for lunch in Villa Borghese. Most of us didn't even know Villa Borghese existed and I'm so glad we had time to explore. It's a It was another one of those really great days. I must credit my friend and fellow Aggie Caroline for the title of this blog. We went bike riding and it was definitely a challenge. Here a several pictures explaining how fun it was: 

Peronis were a little more entertaining than the parade

The Notebook spot

Matt tried a little bit of off roading. 

Thanks, Alycia! Job well done on steering :)

I wasn't much of an asset to the team. 

Honestly, best 5 euro I've spent. 

Stumbled upon this while bike riding

Huge McDonalds by the Spanish Steps. Sadly, we have had McDonalds 4 times now

There was a real McCafe with italian espresso and bakery items. No pictures were allowed so this is all I could manage to get. 

Studying abroad?

I don't really think studying abroad is the best term to describe what we are doing over here. Of course we are taking classes and "studying" but it is really so much more than that. I'm obsessed with my daily routine. Thankfully, I convinced bestie Chelsey to drop her second class and only take 3 hours this session - I'm always a great influence when it comes to the schooling. 

We are living the greatest life. We wake up then go to class, get out around 12:45, eat lunch, get some gelato, and explore all day long. Pretty much everyone else is taking 6 hours and has class spread out all day long and they have no time to explore. Chels and I get to wander around this amazing city and everyday we just stumble upon beauty. I have never walked so much in my life. I've never loved walking so much. I am just in love with the fact that I am living in Rome, Italy. It still feels so surreal every morning I wake up. I am truly blessed to be living my dream (like to give a shout out to the Luns and Marmie, love you and thank you). 

Monday was a hard day of class. The only complaint I have about our class is that she speaks Italian the whole time. I don't know any Italian (even after a week of class) and it is very hard to understand her 99% of the time. I guess it is the best way to learn a language and hopefully it will pay off in the end. I wish I was taking Italian 102 next session instead of stupid Shakespeare. I mean don't get me wrong I love me some Shakespeare but I'd rather not take a Literature course while in Italy. Buzz kill if you ask me. Plus, I love Shakespeare movies more than the actual written plays :). 

We had our first exam on Tuesday. It was not as bad as I had anticipated. The "listening" portion was the worst part. She would say a word out loud and we had to write it down. Sounds relatively easy but nope, it was ridiculous. She said a word and the whole class just looked at her with a blank stare and she just laughed at us. After class, Chels and I decided it would be a great day to hang out by the Colosseum. We are thinking about making it a weekly routine. It was one of those perfect days - not even the highschool Italian boys reading my journal over my shoulder and mocking me could ruin it. We grabbed a couple of drinks (apple juice, of course) and started writing. I have been wanting to keep a journal but it is harder than blogging. Finding the time to write, explore, and enjoy the city is very difficult and almost not even worth it most days. I'd rather just enjoy myself than try to document every single moment (wise advice from Chels' dad). Here are a couple of pictures from Colosseum Tuesday:

Came across Circo Massimo on the walk to the Colosseum. 

See, just apple juice :)

And this is the picture that brought me to Rome. 

Tuesday night we went out to dinner in Campo dei Fiori. As we were walking there, I finally found the most adorable stackable rings at one of the street vendors tables. I was excited because I did my first bargaining but of course I was still ripped off because I woke up with a green finger. You live, you learn. 

After dinner we went out a few people to the Irish pub Scholar's and I almost karaoke-d. I have never done that (with the exception of the two hour TSwift session Stephers and I did on her birthday ha!). Sadly, there was too long of a line and "we" were getting a little tired. I really wanted to sing 'Friends in Low Places' by Garth Brooks but of course they don't know Garth Brooks over here so then we switched to *NSYNC. I really want to actually do it before I leave. When in Rome... Here are a few pictures of that night:

 Before "dinner" (Chels and I started cooking at home so we can afford to shop)

 Not all mine. 

 Me, Malissa, Chels, Caroline, Alycia

Wednesday was great. Chelsey and I woke up a little late but made it to the bus stop on time but the bus didn't. Our class starts at 11:00 and our bus finally made it there at 11:10, so we got to school at 11:30. The whole way there we were contemplating just taking the day off . We didn't know what the culture is like here about being late so we were worried about walking in thirty minutes late. Thankfully, class was cancelled! It was a little annoying because we were stressing out so much but awesome! We now have a 5 day weekend. Classes were cancelled today (Thursday, June 2) for a national holiday and there are no classes on Friday's. So, with no class we went on a hunt for some iced coffee. We definitely hit the jack pot. These two photos pretty much explain the difference in the cultures.

 This is the dumb italian sized iced coffee I got for 1.10 euro at the cafe next to the bus stop. Are you kidding me?

And here is the greatness we found at a cafe next to our school. Americanized (or americano) iced coffee with chocolate and normal sized cups and only 1.50 euro with JCU card! Just when I start to feel defeated something like this comes along :)

After Chelsey and I found our new coffee spot we went exploring like usual. I actually found my favorite pizza EVER! It was basically sausage pizza (sausage link pieces not normal pizza sausage). It was so great. I was disappointed because for some reason I am not in love with the food over here. I want to be in love with the food and I was just talking about how I'm really needing that one meal that does it for me - and of course I found it the next day :). I was so happy. It is just the little things like that that can really make your day. 

While exploring, we ran into all the great shopping areas. We don't have a Zara anywhere near us in the states and boy are we glad we don't. It was the cutest store I have ever been into. I loved pretty much everything except for the prices. It is pretty weird though because Chelsey and I have almost the same exact taste. I would pick up something and she would have already awed over it and vice versa. It was pretty funny. The clothes were just so simple, yet so chic. I should NOT go back but I already did :(. I needed to get a new cardigan because I came here with only one. What was I thinking though only brining one cardigan? I was under the impression that it was going to be extremely hot everyday but Rome has bi-polar weather. I can barely breathe at night it's so hot (in our non-air conditioned apartment) but it can get pretty chilly outside randomly. Speaking of our non-air conditioned apartment, it's a little irritating because it feels nice with the windows open but we wake up with bug bites all over ourselves.

Love you and miss you all!