Vada coast
This weekend four of the kids in my program (Jenny, Zach, Mary, Aaron) and I decided to get away from the city for a bit and find a beach. Zach did his research and found some place on the coast of Tuscany, Vada Beach. This was a holiday weekend in Italy so it was quite the task to find a location with open hotels. We took what we could get and went for it.
I really had no idea what to expect from this place. It wasn't on the map, but there was some information online about it.
After a two hour train ride we arrived at the smallest train station we had ever seen. We walked out and all there really was were fields and a parking lot. A cab driver was there and happy to take us to our hotel. We arrived at a very quaint little town. It was very small, but beautiful town. There were no American tourist here, which was quite the change from everywhere else. This area was full of families with small children and many pregnant women. Our hotel was very safe and moments away from a beach. The beach was not quite the white sand beach I imagined. They were still nice beaches though with shallow, calm, clear water. None of the beach was crowded and the sun was perfect during the morning thru the later afternoon. We walked through the plaza, which was the center and city of this town, for dinners and ate some delectable pizza lunches at our hotel. Italian food is just so fresh and delicious. Each night we watched the sunset on the beach. I couldn't have asked for anything better than that. The first night on the beach we came across and older man who was astonished to see American students there. He raved about his love for America and become our friend. Aldo Roseilini was his name, very Italian. He was one of the few people there to speak English and appreciate American tourists.
Vada was a nice enjoyable weekend away from the city and on the beach. Now back to class and life in Florence for now.
Miss you all!
Jamie
Monday, June 6, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Pisa Day Visit
Today our class took a day trip out of Florence to Pisa.
Pisa was different than I pictured it to be. Of course there is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but not much more. It is a pretty small city. We had a tour through the landmarks of the city. This consisted of touring the Campo dei Miracoli including the Baptistery, the Cathedral, the grave yard and hearing the history of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was cool to see some very famous artists work here, like the work of Cimbue, Giovanni, and the architects of each building.
The Baptistery is known for the acoustics. One of the guards stood in the center and sang up towards the dome. It was a beautiful sound. It sounded like there was a whole choir up there. This is because the ceiling was originally a pointed dome, which later a spherical dome was added over.
The Cathedral was gorgeous. It took your breath away! Within it is The Urn of San Ranieri. He died in 1161, but they keep his body in a glass casket there. It was kind of eery. The ceilings were marvelous covered in carved wood and gold leaf.
The grave yard was interesting, covered in buried tombs and the walls painted with frescos. Majority of the frescos were ruined in a bombing during the World Wars, but it was awesome because you could see the original sketches behind them.
The Leaning Tower. It was much harder to take a picture than it looks. I got one holding it up, but it isn't nearly as cool as I thought. The tower is most certainly leaning. There is a whole story as to how it sunk in the soil on the west during the building process and how it has been added upon and stabilized over the last couple hundred of years. It is crazy to think it is a stable building. I am kind of glad we did not go to the top of that building.
Well that was just another day in paradise for me. Here comes yet another weekend in Florence. We will see the adventures I come up with next.
ciao!
J
Pisa was different than I pictured it to be. Of course there is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but not much more. It is a pretty small city. We had a tour through the landmarks of the city. This consisted of touring the Campo dei Miracoli including the Baptistery, the Cathedral, the grave yard and hearing the history of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was cool to see some very famous artists work here, like the work of Cimbue, Giovanni, and the architects of each building.
The Baptistery is known for the acoustics. One of the guards stood in the center and sang up towards the dome. It was a beautiful sound. It sounded like there was a whole choir up there. This is because the ceiling was originally a pointed dome, which later a spherical dome was added over.
The Cathedral was gorgeous. It took your breath away! Within it is The Urn of San Ranieri. He died in 1161, but they keep his body in a glass casket there. It was kind of eery. The ceilings were marvelous covered in carved wood and gold leaf.
The grave yard was interesting, covered in buried tombs and the walls painted with frescos. Majority of the frescos were ruined in a bombing during the World Wars, but it was awesome because you could see the original sketches behind them.
The Leaning Tower. It was much harder to take a picture than it looks. I got one holding it up, but it isn't nearly as cool as I thought. The tower is most certainly leaning. There is a whole story as to how it sunk in the soil on the west during the building process and how it has been added upon and stabilized over the last couple hundred of years. It is crazy to think it is a stable building. I am kind of glad we did not go to the top of that building.
Well that was just another day in paradise for me. Here comes yet another weekend in Florence. We will see the adventures I come up with next.
ciao!
J
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Adventures Galore
Wow! I cannot believe I have already been in Florence for nearly two weeks. It is amazing how quickly time goes.
Florence is definitely my favorite place on earth. I know I have not been everywhere, but I couldn't have designed my ideal place to be any better than this. Everything about Florence is astounding.
My apartment in right by The Duomo, which is the ideal place located basically in the center of the city. Everyday I pass the Duomo several times a day. This is a sight that just continues to take you breath away every time you see it. Today I took the morning to myself and climbed the 400something stairs through narrow stairways all the way to the top of the dome. This view is unbelievable, looking over the whole city and into the hills of Tuscany. All the people looked like ants below. I choose the perfect morning because it was breezy and clear without many people out early.
Throughout my time here I have gone on many excursions and adventures. I am taking a class thru CU with eight other kids. We spend a lot of time together....a lot! But we always have a good time. We have eaten some of the most delectable, freshest food you will every eat. One day three others and I decided to walk and just keep walking. We walked about 2 hours or so outside of the city and found many features you would never find in the city- parks, a carnival, a pyramid tomb, a public swimming pool, a quaint local town, a local Italian flea market, the best gelato I have ever had here, local soccer games, and so much more. We walked for about 5 hours straight that day and truly experienced Italian culture. Other than this excision, we have learned to suck it up and always climb the largest hill or street in sight. This always leads to the best view in the city. We have done this several times and have never regretted the climb.
Keep checking and I will be sure to post more stories, adventures and places I have been. This is just a glimpse. Check out Facebook for photos galore.
Off to Pisa for the day tomorrow!
Ciao!
Jamie
Florence is definitely my favorite place on earth. I know I have not been everywhere, but I couldn't have designed my ideal place to be any better than this. Everything about Florence is astounding.
My apartment in right by The Duomo, which is the ideal place located basically in the center of the city. Everyday I pass the Duomo several times a day. This is a sight that just continues to take you breath away every time you see it. Today I took the morning to myself and climbed the 400something stairs through narrow stairways all the way to the top of the dome. This view is unbelievable, looking over the whole city and into the hills of Tuscany. All the people looked like ants below. I choose the perfect morning because it was breezy and clear without many people out early.
Throughout my time here I have gone on many excursions and adventures. I am taking a class thru CU with eight other kids. We spend a lot of time together....a lot! But we always have a good time. We have eaten some of the most delectable, freshest food you will every eat. One day three others and I decided to walk and just keep walking. We walked about 2 hours or so outside of the city and found many features you would never find in the city- parks, a carnival, a pyramid tomb, a public swimming pool, a quaint local town, a local Italian flea market, the best gelato I have ever had here, local soccer games, and so much more. We walked for about 5 hours straight that day and truly experienced Italian culture. Other than this excision, we have learned to suck it up and always climb the largest hill or street in sight. This always leads to the best view in the city. We have done this several times and have never regretted the climb.
Keep checking and I will be sure to post more stories, adventures and places I have been. This is just a glimpse. Check out Facebook for photos galore.
Off to Pisa for the day tomorrow!
Ciao!
Jamie
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Just the Beginning of Florence
Florence blog
I cannot believe I have been in Florence for over a week now. This is the most amazing place on earth. There is soooo much to see and do. I have been able to experience many adventures here...
To begin my trip I arrived a day early so I could be in Florence on time for my program. The moment I stepped off the plane into the heat of the Florence air I knew this was going to be the best decision I have ever made.
I stayed in a hostel for a night by myself. I had the greatest time! I met several great kids from all over The States and Canada. One of the girl's had been in Florence for a semester so she showed me the ropes, the best pizza place and best gelato places. Also a few Italian words to get me around. These were all incredibly helpful. We got to watch the sunset while staring over the river and bridges eating gelato. A very successful start to my trip. I was sad to leave the hostel after just one night. I said goodbye to my new friends and set out to begin my study abroad program.
I quickly learned that public transportation in Florence is not necessary and unreliable, if you want to get anywhere, walking Is your best bet.
This was just the beginning of my trip. I have many more Stories and places I have gone. Keep posted for more!
I cannot believe I have been in Florence for over a week now. This is the most amazing place on earth. There is soooo much to see and do. I have been able to experience many adventures here...
To begin my trip I arrived a day early so I could be in Florence on time for my program. The moment I stepped off the plane into the heat of the Florence air I knew this was going to be the best decision I have ever made.
I stayed in a hostel for a night by myself. I had the greatest time! I met several great kids from all over The States and Canada. One of the girl's had been in Florence for a semester so she showed me the ropes, the best pizza place and best gelato places. Also a few Italian words to get me around. These were all incredibly helpful. We got to watch the sunset while staring over the river and bridges eating gelato. A very successful start to my trip. I was sad to leave the hostel after just one night. I said goodbye to my new friends and set out to begin my study abroad program.
I quickly learned that public transportation in Florence is not necessary and unreliable, if you want to get anywhere, walking Is your best bet.
This was just the beginning of my trip. I have many more Stories and places I have gone. Keep posted for more!
Monday, May 23, 2011
My trip thus far...
Blog- sum up thus far
Well I am two weeks into my six week Europe adventure, and what an adventure it has been! I have been through three main cities in three different countries. Each had a different language and a different lifestyle. I have seen thousands of sites and experienced different cultures of the world.
I have learned more than one could imagine, seen some of the most famous sites in the world and challenged myself. The most important quality I have taken away thus far is that you must always keep an open mind. This has gotten me through the whole trip. It has opened many doors. Every time Kelsey and I got lost, or just off our path a bit, we would always keep going and find one of the must magnificent places. I tried many food items I would never normally eat (This was usually because we couldn't read the menu, but sometimes it was a part of the culture). I ate bacon, sausage, ham, calamari, lobster/crab smear, mushrooms, onions, and so much more. Not that I enjoyed all of them, but I am glad I tried each. I have challenged theses fears I have always had and taken many risks I would never do. In this I made it to the top of one of the world's tallest buildings (with a tremendous fear of heights), I have lived out of one bag for two weeks and have four more with the same bag, I have done things I could never image doing without this experience. In each country I tried to catch onto the language and use it when I could. Although this was not easy to do in three or four days, you can catch onto enough to get you through.
In each city, Kelsey and I found that the best thing to do was to observe other people. This allowed us to see which was the right way to walk on the street, how to eat appropriately, when to leave a tip, how to act within their culture and more.
Well now Kelsey and I have parted ways and I wait for yet another adventure to add to these adventures I have already experienced. Here I come Florence!
I look forward to staying in one place for a bit longer and really get to be emerged in one country and one culture to several weeks.
Well I am two weeks into my six week Europe adventure, and what an adventure it has been! I have been through three main cities in three different countries. Each had a different language and a different lifestyle. I have seen thousands of sites and experienced different cultures of the world.
I have learned more than one could imagine, seen some of the most famous sites in the world and challenged myself. The most important quality I have taken away thus far is that you must always keep an open mind. This has gotten me through the whole trip. It has opened many doors. Every time Kelsey and I got lost, or just off our path a bit, we would always keep going and find one of the must magnificent places. I tried many food items I would never normally eat (This was usually because we couldn't read the menu, but sometimes it was a part of the culture). I ate bacon, sausage, ham, calamari, lobster/crab smear, mushrooms, onions, and so much more. Not that I enjoyed all of them, but I am glad I tried each. I have challenged theses fears I have always had and taken many risks I would never do. In this I made it to the top of one of the world's tallest buildings (with a tremendous fear of heights), I have lived out of one bag for two weeks and have four more with the same bag, I have done things I could never image doing without this experience. In each country I tried to catch onto the language and use it when I could. Although this was not easy to do in three or four days, you can catch onto enough to get you through.
In each city, Kelsey and I found that the best thing to do was to observe other people. This allowed us to see which was the right way to walk on the street, how to eat appropriately, when to leave a tip, how to act within their culture and more.
Well now Kelsey and I have parted ways and I wait for yet another adventure to add to these adventures I have already experienced. Here I come Florence!
I look forward to staying in one place for a bit longer and really get to be emerged in one country and one culture to several weeks.
Madrid
Madrid blog
Madrid was very different from Paris and London. Kelsey and I really didn't know what to expect going into Madrid. Neither of us knew much about it, what to do there, or where to go. Once again we stuck together and pulled out another great trip. Our friend Jeff has lived there for the last six months. He was super nice and hung out with us for most of out trip. Jeff took us on a day trip,to the best/cheapest restaurants, and taught us a bit of Spanish.
Spanish phrases (please disregard my spelling, it is going off sound):
Valé=okay
Salude= bless you
Pardon= excuse me
Hola= hello
Adios= good bye
Many more phrases and terms
Trends:
Meat, meat, and more meat- ham, bacon, sausage, anything with meat
Roller blades
Small cars and motor cycles
High boots
Places We Went:
Plaza de España-- nice little plaza near our hostel
Grand Via-- where we stayed. A famous strip of Madrid
Campo del Moro-- a huge park we strolled thru one day
Cathedral de la Almudena
Palacio Real
These rooms were exquisite. All with massive scale. The size of the rugs astonished me! They took up massive rooms of the place. Also the porcelain room was spectacular ( the whole room was made of porcelain). Each room was so different from the next
Treato Real (we found some really cheap, really good sandwiches here)
Plaza del Sol (marks kilo 0 of Spain)
Main shopping streets ( Calle de Preciado and others known for shopping)
Plaza Mayor
Monastery de el Escorial (a day trip, about 45 mins north, in the mountains)
El Prado Museo-- contained many masterpieces and much more
Museo Reina Sofia-- contemporary art including Picasso and many abstract pieces
Parquet del Retiro- a massive park, would be an awesome place to chill every afternoon
Chamartín
Estadio Santiago Benrnabeu (the soccer 'fùtbol' stadium of Real Madrid)
-on our last night in Madrid it was Real Madrid's last game of the season, so we set out and bought some jerseys and went to experience a true game! They won 8-1!
What we learned-
-things are always different than they appear (food, clothes sizes, etc.). All the food was much different than you would think. Even a hamburger, was not really a hamburger
- Spanish in Madrid is spoken different than what we were taught
-Spaniards will try and help you speak the language rather than go eu and speak English
-once you know how to ride underground trains, they all run the same
- everything tastes and looks the same in every restaurant even if it is quadruple the price
- it is helpful to have someone more familiar with the area show you the way
Madrid was a city full of surprises for Kelsey and I. There are many expansive parks, shopping areas, palaces, etc. Each place was only about a 5-10 minute walk, making it seem a lot smaller than we expected. Such a fun beautiful city though.
Madrid was very different from Paris and London. Kelsey and I really didn't know what to expect going into Madrid. Neither of us knew much about it, what to do there, or where to go. Once again we stuck together and pulled out another great trip. Our friend Jeff has lived there for the last six months. He was super nice and hung out with us for most of out trip. Jeff took us on a day trip,to the best/cheapest restaurants, and taught us a bit of Spanish.
Spanish phrases (please disregard my spelling, it is going off sound):
Valé=okay
Salude= bless you
Pardon= excuse me
Hola= hello
Adios= good bye
Many more phrases and terms
Trends:
Meat, meat, and more meat- ham, bacon, sausage, anything with meat
Roller blades
Small cars and motor cycles
High boots
Places We Went:
Plaza de España-- nice little plaza near our hostel
Grand Via-- where we stayed. A famous strip of Madrid
Campo del Moro-- a huge park we strolled thru one day
Cathedral de la Almudena
Palacio Real
These rooms were exquisite. All with massive scale. The size of the rugs astonished me! They took up massive rooms of the place. Also the porcelain room was spectacular ( the whole room was made of porcelain). Each room was so different from the next
Treato Real (we found some really cheap, really good sandwiches here)
Plaza del Sol (marks kilo 0 of Spain)
Main shopping streets ( Calle de Preciado and others known for shopping)
Plaza Mayor
Monastery de el Escorial (a day trip, about 45 mins north, in the mountains)
El Prado Museo-- contained many masterpieces and much more
Museo Reina Sofia-- contemporary art including Picasso and many abstract pieces
Parquet del Retiro- a massive park, would be an awesome place to chill every afternoon
Chamartín
Estadio Santiago Benrnabeu (the soccer 'fùtbol' stadium of Real Madrid)
-on our last night in Madrid it was Real Madrid's last game of the season, so we set out and bought some jerseys and went to experience a true game! They won 8-1!
What we learned-
-things are always different than they appear (food, clothes sizes, etc.). All the food was much different than you would think. Even a hamburger, was not really a hamburger
- Spanish in Madrid is spoken different than what we were taught
-Spaniards will try and help you speak the language rather than go eu and speak English
-once you know how to ride underground trains, they all run the same
- everything tastes and looks the same in every restaurant even if it is quadruple the price
- it is helpful to have someone more familiar with the area show you the way
Madrid was a city full of surprises for Kelsey and I. There are many expansive parks, shopping areas, palaces, etc. Each place was only about a 5-10 minute walk, making it seem a lot smaller than we expected. Such a fun beautiful city though.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Paris
Paris blog
Paris was quite the adventure for Kelsey and I. We were very lost and confused Americans the first day. We tried to brush up on some French phrases because we thought it would be helpful. Once we got there though we realized French is much harder than it looks and no matter how many times we practiced we still said the phrases wrong.
They have an underground train system similar to London. We were familiar with how to ride this so had no trouble at all finding our hotel. It was a very cute, very simple older hotel we stayed in right in a main area of town, Bastille.
We learned pretty quickly the terms used regularly- from foods to simple phrases like closed or push/pull. Not all the French were friendly and welcoming, but almost everywhere we went they could speech English or at least bear with us as we attempted to ask them a question. We did a lot of observing to see how the culture worked there and what was appropriate and what wasn't.
There were a lot of tourist there from all over the place. It was easy to spot out the Americans and other English speaking people. Most were just as confused as we were so that was always reassuring.
Every place we went took our breath away and made us speechless. The sites and historic locations are beyond massive, with intricate detail. Just mind-blowing. I think we took a hundred photos, if not more, at each location.
Blow are some lists that Kelsey and I made from our whole trip...
French terms that were most useful:
Bonjour= hello
Au revoir= good bye
Pardon= sorry
Excusez-moi= excuse me
Merci= thank you
Parlez-vous anglais?= do you speak English?
S'il vous plaît= please
Jamon= ham
Fromage= cheese
Les toilettes= toliet
Etc......
Trends:
High fashion, dressy attire
Long champ bags
Roller blades
Mopeds/motorcycles
Smoking
Coffee breaks
Crêpes
Public Display of Affection
casual drinks- anytime of the day
Places we went:
Bastille (the area we stayed in)
The Eiffel Tower (we went all the way to the TOP! This is over 80 stories and more than 600 flights of stairs. Scared out of my mind. I almost cried so I wouldn't have to go.)
Musee de Louvre "The Louvre" ( this contained over 35,000 works of art. It would take one person 9 months to view every piece. So we just glanced thru parts of it seeing a Michael Anglo sculpture and the Mona Lisa)
Galeries Layafette (the capitals best known departments store with high-end fashion items)
Place de la Concord (an enormous square with a large tower on the opposite end of Arc de Triophe along Avenue des Champs Élysées )
Walked down Avenue des Champs Élysées
Arc de Triophe (surrounding this arc is surrounded by the worlds busiest intersection, with 12 streets forming at a round about)
Versailles-château and gardens
Montimartre-Basilique Du Sacré Cœur (known for it's best view of the city, minus the Eiffel Tower)
Notre Dame (a massive Gothic Cathedral)
Things we learned:
- if you sit outside, someone is going to be smoking next to you
- all of the machines are in French(which makes it hard to understand what you are getting into)
- no matter what time of day The Metro (the underground train) is going to be packed
- if you act confused, people will speak to you in English
- you stand out like a sore thumb as an American
- all English speaking people find each other- whether this is to take a picture, ask a question, or just to hear a familiar language
- read your tour book before considering crossing the world's busiest intersection with 12 streets forming at a round about. (good thing we pulled out the book, seconds before running across. Turns out there is an underground passage. We had no idea)
-always look up to find where you are going
- stores open late and close early
- there is not true time- stores hours are subjective, trains arrive anywhere between 5-15mins of when they say
-the hardest thing about shopping was not being able to buy something because it was too expensive, you didn't have enough room in your bag, or you knew if you bought one thing you would have to buy 3 more things to go with it...
Paris was definitely far out from my comfort zone! I ate things I would never eat, faced fears I will probably never get over, got around without knowing a word of French, and truly experienced the French culture. It was an exceptional trip!
Paris was quite the adventure for Kelsey and I. We were very lost and confused Americans the first day. We tried to brush up on some French phrases because we thought it would be helpful. Once we got there though we realized French is much harder than it looks and no matter how many times we practiced we still said the phrases wrong.
They have an underground train system similar to London. We were familiar with how to ride this so had no trouble at all finding our hotel. It was a very cute, very simple older hotel we stayed in right in a main area of town, Bastille.
We learned pretty quickly the terms used regularly- from foods to simple phrases like closed or push/pull. Not all the French were friendly and welcoming, but almost everywhere we went they could speech English or at least bear with us as we attempted to ask them a question. We did a lot of observing to see how the culture worked there and what was appropriate and what wasn't.
There were a lot of tourist there from all over the place. It was easy to spot out the Americans and other English speaking people. Most were just as confused as we were so that was always reassuring.
Every place we went took our breath away and made us speechless. The sites and historic locations are beyond massive, with intricate detail. Just mind-blowing. I think we took a hundred photos, if not more, at each location.
Blow are some lists that Kelsey and I made from our whole trip...
French terms that were most useful:
Bonjour= hello
Au revoir= good bye
Pardon= sorry
Excusez-moi= excuse me
Merci= thank you
Parlez-vous anglais?= do you speak English?
S'il vous plaît= please
Jamon= ham
Fromage= cheese
Les toilettes= toliet
Etc......
Trends:
High fashion, dressy attire
Long champ bags
Roller blades
Mopeds/motorcycles
Smoking
Coffee breaks
Crêpes
Public Display of Affection
casual drinks- anytime of the day
Places we went:
Bastille (the area we stayed in)
The Eiffel Tower (we went all the way to the TOP! This is over 80 stories and more than 600 flights of stairs. Scared out of my mind. I almost cried so I wouldn't have to go.)
Musee de Louvre "The Louvre" ( this contained over 35,000 works of art. It would take one person 9 months to view every piece. So we just glanced thru parts of it seeing a Michael Anglo sculpture and the Mona Lisa)
Galeries Layafette (the capitals best known departments store with high-end fashion items)
Place de la Concord (an enormous square with a large tower on the opposite end of Arc de Triophe along Avenue des Champs Élysées )
Walked down Avenue des Champs Élysées
Arc de Triophe (surrounding this arc is surrounded by the worlds busiest intersection, with 12 streets forming at a round about)
Versailles-château and gardens
Montimartre-Basilique Du Sacré Cœur (known for it's best view of the city, minus the Eiffel Tower)
Notre Dame (a massive Gothic Cathedral)
Things we learned:
- if you sit outside, someone is going to be smoking next to you
- all of the machines are in French(which makes it hard to understand what you are getting into)
- no matter what time of day The Metro (the underground train) is going to be packed
- if you act confused, people will speak to you in English
- you stand out like a sore thumb as an American
- all English speaking people find each other- whether this is to take a picture, ask a question, or just to hear a familiar language
- read your tour book before considering crossing the world's busiest intersection with 12 streets forming at a round about. (good thing we pulled out the book, seconds before running across. Turns out there is an underground passage. We had no idea)
-always look up to find where you are going
- stores open late and close early
- there is not true time- stores hours are subjective, trains arrive anywhere between 5-15mins of when they say
-the hardest thing about shopping was not being able to buy something because it was too expensive, you didn't have enough room in your bag, or you knew if you bought one thing you would have to buy 3 more things to go with it...
Paris was definitely far out from my comfort zone! I ate things I would never eat, faced fears I will probably never get over, got around without knowing a word of French, and truly experienced the French culture. It was an exceptional trip!
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