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Well…this adventure is coming to an end. I will be leaving Italy in less than a week. This semester has been one of the greatest times of my life. In 3 months I was able to study in a different country, learn a new language, make friends from all around the United States, and grow as a human being. It’s been a remarkable experience and I am glad that I could share my travels with you all.
Lots of Love and I will see you all soon!
Audrey
Thursday, April 3, 2008
When in Rome...
This past weekend I had my own “Roman Holiday”. We left early Friday morning to venture across the mountainous terrain of central Italy, into Rome. We arrive a little behind schedule, the bus ride took longer because of the horrendous traffic…you think Chicago is bad…Anyways, we got into to our hotel (I stayed with Whitney and my other friend Rachel.) We packed up and jumped on the metro…PS: there are only two metro lines in Rome…because ever time they would begin digging a new one…they would find more…stuff! Anyways, our first adventure took place in the Colosseum. It was amazing. I loved standing in a place where so much history had happened…over 2000 years ago. It’s remarkable that it’s still standing. Then we walked around the city a little more, took some pictures…(ask to see them when I get home...)
Then we left for the Mouth of Truth, however it closed so we just spent time wandering around and finally returned for our first group dinner. The food was amazing and it made all of us so sleepy that we went straight back to the hotel and went to bed.
Saturday, we woke up early and get ready for a very busy day. We first went to the Vatican and into St. Peter’s Cathedral. Climbed the dome and got an amazing view of Rome. Left the top of the cappela and ventured into the actual church. It was beautiful. Sadly though, the Pope didn’t greet us. He was taking a break after the Easter weekend, so he planned to address everyone by satellite on Sunday…so high-tech. After we finished up at there, Megan took me and a few of my friends to the BEST pizza place….yes, she had officially found the BEST pizza in all Italy, and I got to have some…actually 4 huge pieces to be exact. Then we met Filiberto later and went into the Vatican Museum, where I visited the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo said that he wasn’t a painter, well; I think that he was mistaken. It was the most impressive thing that I had seen since the David….which Mike also did. After the museum, we left to go back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Again, dinner was amazing and I loved spending time with people that I don’t get to see all that often.
The next morning we ventured to the Pantheon. That was an incredible building and it’s amazing that it has survived for so many centuries. But, we only spent about and hour there, and after that we got free time for the rest of the day. My friends and I left for the Jewish area of Rome, where we stopped by a little bakery and got some of the best macaroons that I have ever tasted. Then we walked to the Mouth of Truth (I didn’t risk telling a lie…no point…Gregory Peck already did it), and then we went to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. The Trevi Fountain was probably my favorite thing is Rome. This immaculate fountain built into a side of a building…incredible. We then headed back to the Colosseum and laid out for a while just soaking in the Roman Sun. Did some shopping for friends and family and then headed back to board our train home.
Rome was amazing. I hope that I will be able to return one day. Well…I know that I will…I threw a coin over my LEFT shoulder into the Trevi Fountain to assure my return….psyched!
Love you all!
Audrey
Then we left for the Mouth of Truth, however it closed so we just spent time wandering around and finally returned for our first group dinner. The food was amazing and it made all of us so sleepy that we went straight back to the hotel and went to bed.
Saturday, we woke up early and get ready for a very busy day. We first went to the Vatican and into St. Peter’s Cathedral. Climbed the dome and got an amazing view of Rome. Left the top of the cappela and ventured into the actual church. It was beautiful. Sadly though, the Pope didn’t greet us. He was taking a break after the Easter weekend, so he planned to address everyone by satellite on Sunday…so high-tech. After we finished up at there, Megan took me and a few of my friends to the BEST pizza place….yes, she had officially found the BEST pizza in all Italy, and I got to have some…actually 4 huge pieces to be exact. Then we met Filiberto later and went into the Vatican Museum, where I visited the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo said that he wasn’t a painter, well; I think that he was mistaken. It was the most impressive thing that I had seen since the David….which Mike also did. After the museum, we left to go back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Again, dinner was amazing and I loved spending time with people that I don’t get to see all that often.
The next morning we ventured to the Pantheon. That was an incredible building and it’s amazing that it has survived for so many centuries. But, we only spent about and hour there, and after that we got free time for the rest of the day. My friends and I left for the Jewish area of Rome, where we stopped by a little bakery and got some of the best macaroons that I have ever tasted. Then we walked to the Mouth of Truth (I didn’t risk telling a lie…no point…Gregory Peck already did it), and then we went to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. The Trevi Fountain was probably my favorite thing is Rome. This immaculate fountain built into a side of a building…incredible. We then headed back to the Colosseum and laid out for a while just soaking in the Roman Sun. Did some shopping for friends and family and then headed back to board our train home.
Rome was amazing. I hope that I will be able to return one day. Well…I know that I will…I threw a coin over my LEFT shoulder into the Trevi Fountain to assure my return….psyched!
Love you all!
Audrey
Thursday, March 27, 2008
17 hours of Travel
Time flies when you are sitting on a train for 4 hours on your way home from a lovely weekend in London, England.
This past Easter weekend, my friend Whitney and I traveled to London to visit our other friend Megan. We left Friday morning to catch a plane out of Perugia. The train travel wasn't horrible...no creepy Italians asking us to put eye-drops in for them (if you haven't heard of this story yet...ask me later.) However, when we arrived in the train station, we had to then find the airport...which we had heard...is in the middle of a corn-field (holler out to Indiana.) Anyways, after 20 min. of searching we caught a cab and headed to the airport.
At the airport, we got through security okay, and then awaited our take-off time. Nothing too exciting happened during this time, and soon boarded our plane....2 hours later....we landed in London, and had to wait to catch a bus to Liverpool Street. waiting.....waiting...waiting...and finally jumped on the bus and drove an hour. When we arrived Meg was waiting for us at the Tube Station and we got on to head to her flat.
When we got to her flat, we met some of her roommates and then we were told that we were living immediately because the show we were going to go see, Spamalot, was all the way across town and we were going to be late! So we departed ASAP and LITERALLY ran through London...we Whitney was in heals and I was in flats that barely stayed on my feet...and we were running through London. When we finally got to the theater, we found out that our seats were on the 3rd floor and there was no elevator...great...so when I got to my seat...I was fanning myself with my ticket stub. The show was amazing though and we had so much fun.
The next morning we did a whirl wind tour of London and all the touristy sights...they go as follows: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, House of Parliament, the Themes River, The Globe Theater, St. Peter's Cathedral (from Mary Poppins), London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, the palace where the crown jewels are kept and finally Kings Cross Station where Platform 9 3/4 is accessible. After that tour we went back to Meg's flat and ate Chinese food and then hit the town...
Easter was a wonderfully memorable day. It snowed hard core all day long and so our trip to a small church was almost more that we could handle. But we got there and sat among 8 other people. The smallest church service I have ever been too....and this was on Easter. But it was great all the same. We left church and headed to find Abbey Road and imitate the famous walk of the Beatles. Good thing that it was so terribly cold and I froze in my capri pants. But we got the pictures and then...came back to Meg's...changed...and then went to Hyde Park to see the Peter Pan statue, Princess Di's old house and the Price Albert memorial. Soon we came home and rested because Monday....well...read below.
Our Monday began at 1 am...because we didn't go to sleep. We caught a taxi to Liverpool station, got our bus back to the London airport. Hung out there for about 2 hours...not sleeping...because it was so noisy, and then boarded our plane at 6:10 am. Now...you know you are tired when you are sitting in your seat...while people are still boarding the plane....fall asleep...and you wake up...look out the window...and you are mid-air. Slept through escape instructions, learning how to buckle my seat belt, and take-off. Anyways, we flew into Rome and then got train tickets for the 12:15 train to Macerata. Hung out in the Termini for a while...ate some McDonalds...and then had a 5 hour trip home, boarding and unboarding different trains until we finally got home at 6:30 pm Monday night.
One of my favorite weekends here in Europe and one of the most tiring...
I leave for Roma tomorrow morning at 6 am....I'm feeling another "London Weekend"...miss you all and can't wait to come home in 12 days!
Love,
Audrey
This past Easter weekend, my friend Whitney and I traveled to London to visit our other friend Megan. We left Friday morning to catch a plane out of Perugia. The train travel wasn't horrible...no creepy Italians asking us to put eye-drops in for them (if you haven't heard of this story yet...ask me later.) However, when we arrived in the train station, we had to then find the airport...which we had heard...is in the middle of a corn-field (holler out to Indiana.) Anyways, after 20 min. of searching we caught a cab and headed to the airport.
At the airport, we got through security okay, and then awaited our take-off time. Nothing too exciting happened during this time, and soon boarded our plane....2 hours later....we landed in London, and had to wait to catch a bus to Liverpool Street. waiting.....waiting...waiting...and finally jumped on the bus and drove an hour. When we arrived Meg was waiting for us at the Tube Station and we got on to head to her flat.
When we got to her flat, we met some of her roommates and then we were told that we were living immediately because the show we were going to go see, Spamalot, was all the way across town and we were going to be late! So we departed ASAP and LITERALLY ran through London...we Whitney was in heals and I was in flats that barely stayed on my feet...and we were running through London. When we finally got to the theater, we found out that our seats were on the 3rd floor and there was no elevator...great...so when I got to my seat...I was fanning myself with my ticket stub. The show was amazing though and we had so much fun.
The next morning we did a whirl wind tour of London and all the touristy sights...they go as follows: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, House of Parliament, the Themes River, The Globe Theater, St. Peter's Cathedral (from Mary Poppins), London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, the palace where the crown jewels are kept and finally Kings Cross Station where Platform 9 3/4 is accessible. After that tour we went back to Meg's flat and ate Chinese food and then hit the town...
Easter was a wonderfully memorable day. It snowed hard core all day long and so our trip to a small church was almost more that we could handle. But we got there and sat among 8 other people. The smallest church service I have ever been too....and this was on Easter. But it was great all the same. We left church and headed to find Abbey Road and imitate the famous walk of the Beatles. Good thing that it was so terribly cold and I froze in my capri pants. But we got the pictures and then...came back to Meg's...changed...and then went to Hyde Park to see the Peter Pan statue, Princess Di's old house and the Price Albert memorial. Soon we came home and rested because Monday....well...read below.
Our Monday began at 1 am...because we didn't go to sleep. We caught a taxi to Liverpool station, got our bus back to the London airport. Hung out there for about 2 hours...not sleeping...because it was so noisy, and then boarded our plane at 6:10 am. Now...you know you are tired when you are sitting in your seat...while people are still boarding the plane....fall asleep...and you wake up...look out the window...and you are mid-air. Slept through escape instructions, learning how to buckle my seat belt, and take-off. Anyways, we flew into Rome and then got train tickets for the 12:15 train to Macerata. Hung out in the Termini for a while...ate some McDonalds...and then had a 5 hour trip home, boarding and unboarding different trains until we finally got home at 6:30 pm Monday night.
One of my favorite weekends here in Europe and one of the most tiring...
I leave for Roma tomorrow morning at 6 am....I'm feeling another "London Weekend"...miss you all and can't wait to come home in 12 days!
Love,
Audrey
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Bonjour! From Belgium and Paris!
How can I describe Spring Break…I will try to do my best in the following paragraphs…but make sure to ask me more about it when I get home. Some of the infamous stories can only be told verbally.
Thursday 28th of February and Friday 29th of February:
This was the departure date for Spring Break. We left on a train from Macerata around 9 pm and traveled through the night…changing trains about every 2 hours until we reached Pisa, Italy. Sadly I didn’t see the leaning tower, but I did see their amazing airport. Our plane left around noon and we arrive in Brussels, Belgium around 2:30 pm. From there, we trained to Brugge, Belgium and arrived around 7:30 pm. That was a 23 hour day if my calculations are correct. That evening we arrived at our hostel and had a really good dinner at the restaurant that was attached to the hostel. Amazingly enough, the food was really good, and the server spoke in English…what a relief…didn’t have to use my “French” that night.
Sunday 2nd of March:
Saturday we left early in the morning for Brussles and got in early to our hotel. We dropped our luggage and then explored around Brussles. We didn’t stay in the nicer area, so we had to walk about 30 min. to the center of the town and again, adorable. The pictures don't even capture how amazing it was. We hung out in the square and shopped around.
Monday 3rd of March:
In the morning we went to a Second-hand market, recommended by Lonely Planet (a book) and it was basically a really terrible garage sale by all these random people. So we got out of there quick and walked to another part of Brussles that we hadn’t been to. Did some more shopping and then headed back to the hotel to get a little rest and get ready for dinner. We walked 30 min to a restaurant…that was AMAZING! The food was really good and we stayed there from 7:30 till about 10 pm. Then we walked home and packed because we were leaving mid-morning for Paris.
Tuesday 4th of March:
We hung out a little more in the morning in Brussles. Went shopping at H&M (it has a European flare to it, sp it’s not something that I could do in the USA!) Then in the afternoon…we headed over to the train station and trained from Brussles to Paris. The ride was amazing, because we got to see the country side of France that we wouldn’t have been able to if we flew. Got into Paris around 7 pm and check into our hostel. It was brand new and we had an amazing view of an off-shoot of the Seine River. We had dinner at a Crepe stand….I know…so French and then went back to the hostel to go to sleep.
Wednesday 5th of March:
Our first official day in Paris! Began our day with a free tour of Paris given by one of the funniest tour guides I have ever had. Matt – the tour guide. We walked all over Paris...The Seine river, Notre Dame, the Louvre, a random park – with a fashion photo shoot going on, everywhere. Then we broke for lunch and we all got amazing sandwiches…and then I had Starbucks. Loved it. Continued our tour around the city…and when we got to our final resting point (learning about Churchill) I get pooped on. Yes…pooped on. Standing under a tree…in Paris…pooped on. Some animal…pretty sure it wasn’t a bird because the poop was rather large. Anyways, my wonderful friend Megan helped scrape it out of my hair and we soon metro-ed back to the hostel where my other amazing friend Whitney helped me wash my hair in a sink. If you are going to pooped on…it might as well be in Paris. Since we were delayed, we ended up taking another tour of the city. It was located in the Red –light district, where we saw that Moulin Rouge, Van Gogh’s house, The Artists District and the best night view of Paris, including a lit up Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful. Then we headed to the Jewish Dirstict in Paris and had Falafel (yeah Kristen!) and it was so good.
Thursday 6th of March:
Whit and I departed early in the morning to go to Notre Dame to take a few pictures and get some good video. Too bad the weather didn’t want to cooperate, and rained the whole day. So we still took pictures inside the famous church and then headed out to shop around and get some lunch. Met up with our other friends and shopped around a little more.
Friday 7th of March:
This was by far my favorite day of Spring Break. We woke up extra early to go to the Champs Elise and the Arc du Triumph. Arrived and got some amazing video and pictures of the whole area…and in the background…the Eiffel Tower. Shopped around the Champs Elise and went into their Disney Store. Yes, there is a Disney store on the most expensive shopping street in the world…right next to a McDonalds. Awesome. Then we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower…waited in line for about an hour…and then went up in it. It was so cold, but so awesome. You could see everything from the top. Again, took more pictures and then headed to the other landings. After we got off the Tower, we grabbed a quick bite and then headed back to the hostel to change and then take another metro over to the Louvre. Fridays night’s it’s free to get in, so there was a little crowd, but nothing horrible. Got in around 6:30 and walked most of the museum. However, the Louvre is HUGE…so I barely saw anything. However, I did see the Mona Lisa, Aphrodite's Statue, Napoleon’s Apartment, and so much more. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Left the museum around 9:30 pm and headed over towards the Eiffel Tower…again…We all had dinner at this place about a block from the Tower and ordered Onion Soup (because it’s already French), Crème Brule, and Champagne. Then we all ventured over the Eiffel Tower and ever hour, on the hour, it glitters. I felt like a little kid again…I was jumping up and down the whole time going… “I can’t believe that I’m here!!!” I loved Paris.
The last day we just hung out and packed because we left around 4:30 in the morning on Sunday.
We got home safely Sunday night and promptly ate dinner and went to bed.
Spring Break was amazing. The other 3 girls that I went with made it so much fun and I couldn’t have asked for a better time.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. They were well received. But consider next time to pray that I don’t get pooped on. Thanks
Ciao Ciao,
Audrey
Thursday 28th of February and Friday 29th of February:
This was the departure date for Spring Break. We left on a train from Macerata around 9 pm and traveled through the night…changing trains about every 2 hours until we reached Pisa, Italy. Sadly I didn’t see the leaning tower, but I did see their amazing airport. Our plane left around noon and we arrive in Brussels, Belgium around 2:30 pm. From there, we trained to Brugge, Belgium and arrived around 7:30 pm. That was a 23 hour day if my calculations are correct. That evening we arrived at our hostel and had a really good dinner at the restaurant that was attached to the hostel. Amazingly enough, the food was really good, and the server spoke in English…what a relief…didn’t have to use my “French” that night.
Saturday 1st of March:
Friday we woke up early and explored Brugge. I would have never thought that I would spending my Spring Break in Belgium, let alone a town that I had never heard of, but I loved Brugge. It was so beautiful. All of the shop and important buildings had this Dutch feel to them. They were all cookie-cutter shapes and sweet colors that glazes over all the walls. I loved it. It was such a different feel than…all of Italy. We went shopping, ate French fries, went to a chocolate museum, ate chocolate, ate waffles…we ate a lot. Then we found a cute restaurant for dinner.
Friday we woke up early and explored Brugge. I would have never thought that I would spending my Spring Break in Belgium, let alone a town that I had never heard of, but I loved Brugge. It was so beautiful. All of the shop and important buildings had this Dutch feel to them. They were all cookie-cutter shapes and sweet colors that glazes over all the walls. I loved it. It was such a different feel than…all of Italy. We went shopping, ate French fries, went to a chocolate museum, ate chocolate, ate waffles…we ate a lot. Then we found a cute restaurant for dinner.
Sunday 2nd of March:
Saturday we left early in the morning for Brussles and got in early to our hotel. We dropped our luggage and then explored around Brussles. We didn’t stay in the nicer area, so we had to walk about 30 min. to the center of the town and again, adorable. The pictures don't even capture how amazing it was. We hung out in the square and shopped around.
Monday 3rd of March:
In the morning we went to a Second-hand market, recommended by Lonely Planet (a book) and it was basically a really terrible garage sale by all these random people. So we got out of there quick and walked to another part of Brussles that we hadn’t been to. Did some more shopping and then headed back to the hotel to get a little rest and get ready for dinner. We walked 30 min to a restaurant…that was AMAZING! The food was really good and we stayed there from 7:30 till about 10 pm. Then we walked home and packed because we were leaving mid-morning for Paris.
Tuesday 4th of March:
We hung out a little more in the morning in Brussles. Went shopping at H&M (it has a European flare to it, sp it’s not something that I could do in the USA!) Then in the afternoon…we headed over to the train station and trained from Brussles to Paris. The ride was amazing, because we got to see the country side of France that we wouldn’t have been able to if we flew. Got into Paris around 7 pm and check into our hostel. It was brand new and we had an amazing view of an off-shoot of the Seine River. We had dinner at a Crepe stand….I know…so French and then went back to the hostel to go to sleep.
Wednesday 5th of March:
Our first official day in Paris! Began our day with a free tour of Paris given by one of the funniest tour guides I have ever had. Matt – the tour guide. We walked all over Paris...The Seine river, Notre Dame, the Louvre, a random park – with a fashion photo shoot going on, everywhere. Then we broke for lunch and we all got amazing sandwiches…and then I had Starbucks. Loved it. Continued our tour around the city…and when we got to our final resting point (learning about Churchill) I get pooped on. Yes…pooped on. Standing under a tree…in Paris…pooped on. Some animal…pretty sure it wasn’t a bird because the poop was rather large. Anyways, my wonderful friend Megan helped scrape it out of my hair and we soon metro-ed back to the hostel where my other amazing friend Whitney helped me wash my hair in a sink. If you are going to pooped on…it might as well be in Paris. Since we were delayed, we ended up taking another tour of the city. It was located in the Red –light district, where we saw that Moulin Rouge, Van Gogh’s house, The Artists District and the best night view of Paris, including a lit up Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful. Then we headed to the Jewish Dirstict in Paris and had Falafel (yeah Kristen!) and it was so good.
Thursday 6th of March:
Whit and I departed early in the morning to go to Notre Dame to take a few pictures and get some good video. Too bad the weather didn’t want to cooperate, and rained the whole day. So we still took pictures inside the famous church and then headed out to shop around and get some lunch. Met up with our other friends and shopped around a little more.
Friday 7th of March:
This was by far my favorite day of Spring Break. We woke up extra early to go to the Champs Elise and the Arc du Triumph. Arrived and got some amazing video and pictures of the whole area…and in the background…the Eiffel Tower. Shopped around the Champs Elise and went into their Disney Store. Yes, there is a Disney store on the most expensive shopping street in the world…right next to a McDonalds. Awesome. Then we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower…waited in line for about an hour…and then went up in it. It was so cold, but so awesome. You could see everything from the top. Again, took more pictures and then headed to the other landings. After we got off the Tower, we grabbed a quick bite and then headed back to the hostel to change and then take another metro over to the Louvre. Fridays night’s it’s free to get in, so there was a little crowd, but nothing horrible. Got in around 6:30 and walked most of the museum. However, the Louvre is HUGE…so I barely saw anything. However, I did see the Mona Lisa, Aphrodite's Statue, Napoleon’s Apartment, and so much more. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Left the museum around 9:30 pm and headed over towards the Eiffel Tower…again…We all had dinner at this place about a block from the Tower and ordered Onion Soup (because it’s already French), Crème Brule, and Champagne. Then we all ventured over the Eiffel Tower and ever hour, on the hour, it glitters. I felt like a little kid again…I was jumping up and down the whole time going… “I can’t believe that I’m here!!!” I loved Paris.
The last day we just hung out and packed because we left around 4:30 in the morning on Sunday.
We got home safely Sunday night and promptly ate dinner and went to bed.
Spring Break was amazing. The other 3 girls that I went with made it so much fun and I couldn’t have asked for a better time.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. They were well received. But consider next time to pray that I don’t get pooped on. Thanks
Ciao Ciao,
Audrey
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
SPRING BREAK '08'
Hi again everyone. I just want to let you all know that I will be traveling for my Spring Break Feb. 28th to March 9th. Please know that I will fully update you on my travels to Belgium and Paris, France when I return.
And please keep me and my friends in your prayers for safe travels and good health.
Miss you all!
Ciao,
Audrey
And please keep me and my friends in your prayers for safe travels and good health.
Miss you all!
Ciao,
Audrey
Monday, February 25, 2008
Florence is Firenze
So sorry I haven’t written in a while. Returned a day and a half ago from Florence. That’s right…Florence, Italy.
We arrived in Florence the morning of the 20th. We had a very long bus ride that didn’t make the day all that wonderful to start off. However, we arrived around 9:30 am and began our tour of the city. We were taken to a very high point in the distance of the city so we could see everything from a hill top. It was magnificent. Took a tour of a church and then headed back to the bus so that we could be dropped off at out hotel.
Once we arrived and got settled we had a break for lunch. A few of my friends and I decided that we should take advantage of the food market that is located in the middle of the city center. It was a huge white building that had tons of different places to eat. We decided on a small sandwich place where the owner made 9 sandwiches in a matter of 5 minuets. It was one of the most amazing sandwiches that I have ever tasted. Fresh bread, salami, bacon, ham, sun-dried tomatoes, and vinegar and olive-oil. Then we walked around the market that is open every single day and headed back to the hotel. Then Filaberto took us on a few more tours of churches including the Duomo that resides in the actual center of the city. Or day concluded at a nice restaurant where we all enjoyed a slow food experience (slow food is when you sit for about 3 hours and eat and drink…tons of food and wine.)
The next morning we ascended the Duomo…worst staircase of my life! However, we were able to take some amazing pictures…as seen below…
We then continued our tour of the city…stopping in different churches and important buildings. We also took a tour of the museum that houses The David, one of the most amazing art sculptures of our time.
We had a break, so a few of my friends and I got some gelato and headed out shopping. We stumbled across the bridge and took some awesome photos...
The following morning was our last morning in Florence, so we took a tour of the Uffizi Art Museum. There we saw some amazing art, but the best was the Venus that graces so many books, including my Italian Language book cover.
Later on in the day 10 of my other friends and I departed for the city of Siena. There we spent sometime roaming the city and going to dinner for my friend Kacey’s 21st birthday. We happened to meet some very nice Italian 20 year old guys that sang to her some "Regional Songs" along with "Oh Happy Day." They were hilarious.
The next morning was the last day of my wonderful trip in the Tuscany Region. Matt, Mike, Allea and I went inside a church…yes…another church, but this one was amazing as seen below.
Finally our trip home included a 6 hour train ride, that varied on 4 different trains and many funny moments that would take me too long to dive into. Ask me about them when I get home
Miss you all!! And write to me!
Audrey Carlson
Via Crescimbeni, 5
62100 Macerata
Italy
I also love packages….
Audrey
We arrived in Florence the morning of the 20th. We had a very long bus ride that didn’t make the day all that wonderful to start off. However, we arrived around 9:30 am and began our tour of the city. We were taken to a very high point in the distance of the city so we could see everything from a hill top. It was magnificent. Took a tour of a church and then headed back to the bus so that we could be dropped off at out hotel.
Once we arrived and got settled we had a break for lunch. A few of my friends and I decided that we should take advantage of the food market that is located in the middle of the city center. It was a huge white building that had tons of different places to eat. We decided on a small sandwich place where the owner made 9 sandwiches in a matter of 5 minuets. It was one of the most amazing sandwiches that I have ever tasted. Fresh bread, salami, bacon, ham, sun-dried tomatoes, and vinegar and olive-oil. Then we walked around the market that is open every single day and headed back to the hotel. Then Filaberto took us on a few more tours of churches including the Duomo that resides in the actual center of the city. Or day concluded at a nice restaurant where we all enjoyed a slow food experience (slow food is when you sit for about 3 hours and eat and drink…tons of food and wine.)
The next morning we ascended the Duomo…worst staircase of my life! However, we were able to take some amazing pictures…as seen below…
We then continued our tour of the city…stopping in different churches and important buildings. We also took a tour of the museum that houses The David, one of the most amazing art sculptures of our time.
We had a break, so a few of my friends and I got some gelato and headed out shopping. We stumbled across the bridge and took some awesome photos...
The following morning was our last morning in Florence, so we took a tour of the Uffizi Art Museum. There we saw some amazing art, but the best was the Venus that graces so many books, including my Italian Language book cover.
Later on in the day 10 of my other friends and I departed for the city of Siena. There we spent sometime roaming the city and going to dinner for my friend Kacey’s 21st birthday. We happened to meet some very nice Italian 20 year old guys that sang to her some "Regional Songs" along with "Oh Happy Day." They were hilarious.
The next morning was the last day of my wonderful trip in the Tuscany Region. Matt, Mike, Allea and I went inside a church…yes…another church, but this one was amazing as seen below.
Finally our trip home included a 6 hour train ride, that varied on 4 different trains and many funny moments that would take me too long to dive into. Ask me about them when I get home
Miss you all!! And write to me!
Audrey Carlson
Via Crescimbeni, 5
62100 Macerata
Italy
I also love packages….
Audrey
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Swimming in the Adriatic...
Sorry it's taken me so long to post a new blog. I know that some of you are devout readers and it upsets you to arrive at my page and find that I haven't updated....so sorry. This week has been crazy though because I have had midterms...yikes! But everything is good and now I'm here to catch you up on my life.
Yesterday I went on the best Excursion of my life. Most of the excursions are fun...but this one takes the cake. We began our morning on a 7:15 am bus ride to Loreto. This is a fairly small town with a few things to do, but our main stop was at a church that houses the Black Madonna. For those of you that don't know, apparently the house that the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her that she was expecting baby Jesus is in this church along with the Black Madonna. Many people (including Mother Teresa) visited this spot for many years because miracles have happened there....and people still visit to this day. It was an amazing experience to be in that room and one of the most beautiful churches. We walked around the town a little more and then headed to Sirolo where we had the option of going down the the Adriatic Sea...
When we arrived down to the bottom of this huge hit, we were walking on the shores of the Adriatic. It was a warm 60 degree afternoon and all of my friends and I headed over to the shores. I couldn't believe that I was there...it was beautiful. We adventured around on the rock and climbed up on this limestone-ish rock that slide straight into the Sea. Even in tennis shoes it was really hard to keep your balance. Whitney and I were holding a conversation until we heard our friend Clark start yelling. At that moment we turned to see him failing his arms attempting to stay above the water. Yes...he had slipped into the Sea with all of his clothes on. Luckily two of my other guy friends were down near him, and they yanked him out pretty quick. Clark said the water was cold.
After our 20 minute hike back up the mountain-hill...we boarded the bus and went to lunch in Frasassi. Most of our lunches are really good but everyone was so hungry from our trip to the Sea that it was the best lunch we had had so far. After lunch Filiaberto took us to a cave. Now if someone tells you that you are going to a cave...I think of slimy walls that don't have much of anything interesting about them. However, this cave was amazing. The only horrible thing was that we weren't supposed to take pictures....but my friend John did, so I will upload those soon. Anyways, we walked around there for a while and listened to her tell us that it was discovered in the early 70's and they have been preserving since it was found. The walls and pillars are amazing and I loved every minute of it. After we left, we started head to a different part of the town where we got to go wine tasting. This was my first Italian wine tasting experience. We learned how to sniff, look and taste the wine to its fullest, and surprisingly enough...it was very interesting. I think I'm starting to become sort of an expert...haha..
We arrived home in Macerata around 8 pm where I went and got pizza with my friends and reminisced about the day. It was an amazing experience.
This week we're going to Florence (Wednesday), so if you could all keep my group and me in your prayers, I would really appreciate it. I love and miss you all!!
Audrey
Yesterday I went on the best Excursion of my life. Most of the excursions are fun...but this one takes the cake. We began our morning on a 7:15 am bus ride to Loreto. This is a fairly small town with a few things to do, but our main stop was at a church that houses the Black Madonna. For those of you that don't know, apparently the house that the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her that she was expecting baby Jesus is in this church along with the Black Madonna. Many people (including Mother Teresa) visited this spot for many years because miracles have happened there....and people still visit to this day. It was an amazing experience to be in that room and one of the most beautiful churches. We walked around the town a little more and then headed to Sirolo where we had the option of going down the the Adriatic Sea...
When we arrived down to the bottom of this huge hit, we were walking on the shores of the Adriatic. It was a warm 60 degree afternoon and all of my friends and I headed over to the shores. I couldn't believe that I was there...it was beautiful. We adventured around on the rock and climbed up on this limestone-ish rock that slide straight into the Sea. Even in tennis shoes it was really hard to keep your balance. Whitney and I were holding a conversation until we heard our friend Clark start yelling. At that moment we turned to see him failing his arms attempting to stay above the water. Yes...he had slipped into the Sea with all of his clothes on. Luckily two of my other guy friends were down near him, and they yanked him out pretty quick. Clark said the water was cold.
After our 20 minute hike back up the mountain-hill...we boarded the bus and went to lunch in Frasassi. Most of our lunches are really good but everyone was so hungry from our trip to the Sea that it was the best lunch we had had so far. After lunch Filiaberto took us to a cave. Now if someone tells you that you are going to a cave...I think of slimy walls that don't have much of anything interesting about them. However, this cave was amazing. The only horrible thing was that we weren't supposed to take pictures....but my friend John did, so I will upload those soon. Anyways, we walked around there for a while and listened to her tell us that it was discovered in the early 70's and they have been preserving since it was found. The walls and pillars are amazing and I loved every minute of it. After we left, we started head to a different part of the town where we got to go wine tasting. This was my first Italian wine tasting experience. We learned how to sniff, look and taste the wine to its fullest, and surprisingly enough...it was very interesting. I think I'm starting to become sort of an expert...haha..
We arrived home in Macerata around 8 pm where I went and got pizza with my friends and reminisced about the day. It was an amazing experience.
This week we're going to Florence (Wednesday), so if you could all keep my group and me in your prayers, I would really appreciate it. I love and miss you all!!
Audrey
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Carnival - by Creed Braton
I hope that all of you watch the Office - and if you don't then you should. It's an amazing show full of laughs. That is the inside joke about my title. But enough plugging the best show ever...
Yesterday was Carnival. For those of you in the States - Mardi Gras/Hallowween. For me, it was never anything that I looked forward too. Fat Tuesday usually was something that I only celebrated in French Class, and this would have been the first year that I could have attended Muncie Gras - holler for BSU.
Okay, so yesterday our group headed to Ascoli Pecino for the day. When we arrived around 9 am we took a quick tour around the city. It mostly reminded me of Macerata, but it's a flat down in between the mountains and the Adriatic Sea. It was fairly warm so we weren't freezing as we went into the many different churches, theaters, gardens, etc. Filaberto ended our tours rather early so that we could have enough time to enjoy the festivities that were beginning around 3 pm.
My friends and I went to a small restaurant for lunch. We walked in and all sat down at a round table. In the background Bold and the Beautiful was playing, so that made me laugh out loud, literally. Hearing the American actors dubbed voices makes any show more interesting. As I glanced around I noticed the cutest 7 year girl sitting a table all by herself eating lunch. She finished soon and took her plate into the kitchen. Then she re-set the table and told this older gentleman to come and take the table. I believe that he also worked at the restaurant. He began a conversation with my friend Kacey and soon enough - through broken English and Italian - we had a bottle of Red Wine sent over to us for lunch. It was very funny and he continued to talk to us for the rest of our lunch. After we finished, he got up and gave us all kisses on the cheek and sent us on our way.
Carnival was upon us. Families were bringing out their kids and parent were dressed up as well. Every girl is a princess and every little boy is either Spiderman, Batman, or Superman. There were street vendors selling different kinds of fried foods and candy. Street performers were on every corner yelling over their loud speaker systems to drown out the people next to them, and in turn yelling to drown out the people next to them. Music was coming from the remaining loud speakers and people would randomly break into dance.
Now, all of that was amazing...but my favorite part of Carnival is the interaction between everyone. There are two things that are socially acceptable. Throwing confetti and silly string. You can silly string anyone you want and everyone thinks that it is hilarious. Whitney got into a confetti fight with an 80 year man. This morning I woke up and I was still finding confetti in all of my clothes.
If you ever have a chance, go to Italy for Carnival. Forget New Orleans and go to Italy. It's a once in a lifetime experience.
Miss you all,
Audrey
Yesterday was Carnival. For those of you in the States - Mardi Gras/Hallowween. For me, it was never anything that I looked forward too. Fat Tuesday usually was something that I only celebrated in French Class, and this would have been the first year that I could have attended Muncie Gras - holler for BSU.
Okay, so yesterday our group headed to Ascoli Pecino for the day. When we arrived around 9 am we took a quick tour around the city. It mostly reminded me of Macerata, but it's a flat down in between the mountains and the Adriatic Sea. It was fairly warm so we weren't freezing as we went into the many different churches, theaters, gardens, etc. Filaberto ended our tours rather early so that we could have enough time to enjoy the festivities that were beginning around 3 pm.
My friends and I went to a small restaurant for lunch. We walked in and all sat down at a round table. In the background Bold and the Beautiful was playing, so that made me laugh out loud, literally. Hearing the American actors dubbed voices makes any show more interesting. As I glanced around I noticed the cutest 7 year girl sitting a table all by herself eating lunch. She finished soon and took her plate into the kitchen. Then she re-set the table and told this older gentleman to come and take the table. I believe that he also worked at the restaurant. He began a conversation with my friend Kacey and soon enough - through broken English and Italian - we had a bottle of Red Wine sent over to us for lunch. It was very funny and he continued to talk to us for the rest of our lunch. After we finished, he got up and gave us all kisses on the cheek and sent us on our way.
Carnival was upon us. Families were bringing out their kids and parent were dressed up as well. Every girl is a princess and every little boy is either Spiderman, Batman, or Superman. There were street vendors selling different kinds of fried foods and candy. Street performers were on every corner yelling over their loud speaker systems to drown out the people next to them, and in turn yelling to drown out the people next to them. Music was coming from the remaining loud speakers and people would randomly break into dance.
Now, all of that was amazing...but my favorite part of Carnival is the interaction between everyone. There are two things that are socially acceptable. Throwing confetti and silly string. You can silly string anyone you want and everyone thinks that it is hilarious. Whitney got into a confetti fight with an 80 year man. This morning I woke up and I was still finding confetti in all of my clothes.
If you ever have a chance, go to Italy for Carnival. Forget New Orleans and go to Italy. It's a once in a lifetime experience.
Miss you all,
Audrey
Monday, January 28, 2008
My Tandem Partner Zeineb
When we arrived in Italy we were told that for no extra credit what so ever, only the learning experience, that we could sign up for a tandem partner. A tandem partner is someone who is a native of the country and wants to learn your language. In my case and Italian who wants to learn English. The first time I had this idea proposed to me I was all for it. Someone who could help me learn Italian! Awesome, that would really help me with a language that I barely know how to speak. But then I began thinking...what if my person doesn't know a lick of English and we sit in silence for 2 hours (you are required to spend 2 hours together). So then I began to reconsider this whole thing...but it was too late. I had signed up the previous day and was meeting my person that evening.
So, two Wednesday's ago I was sitting in a room with a few of my fellow Americans and watched as several Italians (men and women) entered the room all jabbering in Italian...yeah...not intimidating at all. As our instructor, Angelica, began calling all of the names to match us up I kept praying that my person would know a little English.
"Audrey...with Zeineb." I couldn't even contemplate the name that was just said let alone look around the room to see a 21-year old Italian girl staring back at me smiling. I got up nervously and sat down next to her trying to remember what I learned in Italian the day before. However, as I was contemplating on how to say nice to meet you (piacere) she says...I love when Angelica speaks in English...she sounds so professional..." I think my mouth dropped at that point.
Zeineb is a 3rd year at the University of Macerata. She has studied aboard in several countries....including the United States (Texas) and England. She is practically fluent in English and is one of the nicest people that I have met so far.
This past weekend we went out for a café and talked about religion, politics, friends, family, food, travel, you name it...we talked about it. And it was all in English of course, because I barely know how to hold a conversation in Italian. But every time we meet, we will spend a little more time talking in Italian and less in English. At the end of our conversation, we were talking about her mom and she asked me if I would like to come to her home next Friday and spend the night. Apparently her mom is fascinated with the fact that I have real Red-hair. Go figure.
So, if you ever have the chance to go abroad and want to improve on your speaking skills...get a tandem partner. It really is the best way to learn the language!
Ciao Ragazzi!
Audrey
So, two Wednesday's ago I was sitting in a room with a few of my fellow Americans and watched as several Italians (men and women) entered the room all jabbering in Italian...yeah...not intimidating at all. As our instructor, Angelica, began calling all of the names to match us up I kept praying that my person would know a little English.
"Audrey...with Zeineb." I couldn't even contemplate the name that was just said let alone look around the room to see a 21-year old Italian girl staring back at me smiling. I got up nervously and sat down next to her trying to remember what I learned in Italian the day before. However, as I was contemplating on how to say nice to meet you (piacere) she says...I love when Angelica speaks in English...she sounds so professional..." I think my mouth dropped at that point.
Zeineb is a 3rd year at the University of Macerata. She has studied aboard in several countries....including the United States (Texas) and England. She is practically fluent in English and is one of the nicest people that I have met so far.
This past weekend we went out for a café and talked about religion, politics, friends, family, food, travel, you name it...we talked about it. And it was all in English of course, because I barely know how to hold a conversation in Italian. But every time we meet, we will spend a little more time talking in Italian and less in English. At the end of our conversation, we were talking about her mom and she asked me if I would like to come to her home next Friday and spend the night. Apparently her mom is fascinated with the fact that I have real Red-hair. Go figure.
So, if you ever have the chance to go abroad and want to improve on your speaking skills...get a tandem partner. It really is the best way to learn the language!
Ciao Ragazzi!
Audrey
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Civitanova, Marche
Good afternoon everyone. Hope you are all doing well. Today I find myself after a day full of class, fairly tired. I haven't been sleeping the whole night through, so I'm experimenting tonight. I'm thinking about staying up as late as I can and then sleeping in tomorrow. If you can believe it, I might be getting too much sleep. Or the lack of a fan might also be the problem. But moving on from my sleep deprivation....
This past weekend our group took a tour to the city of Civitanova, slightly south-east of us. We began our morning on a train. There we sat and talked about the city that we were about to encounter with the sun blazing in the windows. Grant it - it's January, so it's still slightly cold but still beautiful and enjoyable. When we arrived at the train station, we got off and began our tour around the city. We follow Filiberto around as he told us the most unique details of every building that we passed. He finally lead us to the Adriatic Sea. I now actually believe that we are close to the water. We have been told that we can see the sea on a clear day...but so far...no luck. Anyways, it was really pretty and being that close to something that I have been learning about since the 4th grade was almost overwhelming. However, when we saw the sea, we also smelled it. Civitanova is a sea port and a fishing hot spot for Italy. Most of the fresh sea food for Italy comes from that port, which is cool, but how interesting can fish really be? We then learned everything there is to know every kind of fish. We followed a man around to all the docks, fishing boats, net-fixing-places, etc. We finally went into the coldest room I have ever had to be in for a long period of time (not including Mr. Hitchcock's classroom). It literally was like "Let's Make a Deal" - the fishermen put there stock of fish on a moving conveyer belt, then people bid on the fish and then run down and purchase the fish. Crazy...seriously only crazy people would do this....it's like the stock market...but with fish.
After we left that area, we went to the local Saturday market. They have tons of vendors that close off streets and sell dresses, shoes, clothing, tablecloths, toys, wooden things, meat, cheese, anything - they got it. I almost bought something, but then I decided to save my money and get a cappuccino. Soon after we headed to lunch at a local restaurant and had a 5 course meal that took 3 hours to finish. Let me tell you something. That was the freshest sea food that I have had - ever. It was really fun too because not only did we get to have really good food, we also began our filming for our documentary class (which by the way, I got a really sweet shot of spaghetti leaving the kitchen...thank you). After lunch ended, Whit, Dom, Kim (his wife) and I headed to this really cute chocolate shop and bought ....chocolate. It was amazing. I don't know what it is, but everything seems to taste better here. Soon after, we hopped the train back to Macerata, and I ended the night going over to Kasey's house, watching the Office, and hitting up Caffe Central with the group.
Overall it was so much fun and I really hope that I can go back soon. Again, I hope all of you are doing well and I love hearing from all of you. Keep me posted on everything that is happening in your lives....I miss all of you tons!
Love,
Audrey
This past weekend our group took a tour to the city of Civitanova, slightly south-east of us. We began our morning on a train. There we sat and talked about the city that we were about to encounter with the sun blazing in the windows. Grant it - it's January, so it's still slightly cold but still beautiful and enjoyable. When we arrived at the train station, we got off and began our tour around the city. We follow Filiberto around as he told us the most unique details of every building that we passed. He finally lead us to the Adriatic Sea. I now actually believe that we are close to the water. We have been told that we can see the sea on a clear day...but so far...no luck. Anyways, it was really pretty and being that close to something that I have been learning about since the 4th grade was almost overwhelming. However, when we saw the sea, we also smelled it. Civitanova is a sea port and a fishing hot spot for Italy. Most of the fresh sea food for Italy comes from that port, which is cool, but how interesting can fish really be? We then learned everything there is to know every kind of fish. We followed a man around to all the docks, fishing boats, net-fixing-places, etc. We finally went into the coldest room I have ever had to be in for a long period of time (not including Mr. Hitchcock's classroom). It literally was like "Let's Make a Deal" - the fishermen put there stock of fish on a moving conveyer belt, then people bid on the fish and then run down and purchase the fish. Crazy...seriously only crazy people would do this....it's like the stock market...but with fish.
After we left that area, we went to the local Saturday market. They have tons of vendors that close off streets and sell dresses, shoes, clothing, tablecloths, toys, wooden things, meat, cheese, anything - they got it. I almost bought something, but then I decided to save my money and get a cappuccino. Soon after we headed to lunch at a local restaurant and had a 5 course meal that took 3 hours to finish. Let me tell you something. That was the freshest sea food that I have had - ever. It was really fun too because not only did we get to have really good food, we also began our filming for our documentary class (which by the way, I got a really sweet shot of spaghetti leaving the kitchen...thank you). After lunch ended, Whit, Dom, Kim (his wife) and I headed to this really cute chocolate shop and bought ....chocolate. It was amazing. I don't know what it is, but everything seems to taste better here. Soon after, we hopped the train back to Macerata, and I ended the night going over to Kasey's house, watching the Office, and hitting up Caffe Central with the group.
Overall it was so much fun and I really hope that I can go back soon. Again, I hope all of you are doing well and I love hearing from all of you. Keep me posted on everything that is happening in your lives....I miss all of you tons!
Love,
Audrey
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment....this is the country side of Italy. In the distance you can see the mountains that are in the west.
This is the town perspective...also facing west
Closer look at the hills
This is a fountain in the nearby park...beautiful
From the street below looking into the city
This is on our walk home everday.
This is my apt. building, ours is the 1st floor.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Here are pictures that aren't mine...read on...
so I keep forgetting my camera at home...so there will be pictures tomorrow...but I wanted to show you that I'm actually here. See...there I am...the red-head. This is Dom's picture by the way...
This is Dom's too....I have other ones...but I wanted to show you all the landscape...because it's amazing...I'll put more up soon
Love,
Audrey
Monday, January 14, 2008
Bright, sunshiny day!
I think that song best describes today in Macerata. For the past 4 days it has been cloudy, rainy, all around gross. Today it is a beautiful clear day with a high of 11° C. Whitney and I headed out early this morning because today was our first day of actual class. However, we only have one class today, Italian, so it wasn't anything too tragic. We ended up going to the market after class and buying some food before we stopped off at home. But before I get all boring on you let me refresh you on this past weekends events.
Saturday we had another walking tour of Macerata, to show the students where we would be taking our classes. Beginning at 8 am is rough enough, but let me remind you that this was our 4th tour around the city. However, the tour ended shortly, because we took time to go to the local mall. This mall was no Castleton. I'm going to make the assumption that there were about 15 shops all together and one large Wal*Mart type store in the center. We all ate lunch in the "common area" before taking time to walk around the mall, which took all of 10 min. All of the stores were over priced, and nothing really sparked my interest. Until I got to the one bookstore at the end, and they had every Harry Potter book except for the last one, which I think is the one that I want to buy. So that was a bust, but it was interesting seeing the other book covers that exist in Europe, and specifically Italy. We came back and got ready for our nightly activities. We went over to some friends house for dinner and then we were joined by about half of the rest of the group. Needless to say it got a little crowed so we headed out to our favorite bar. (By the way, we have only been there once.) Once we got there we headed up to our same upstairs location to sit on our couches, but we were unable to because there were about seven 16 year olds. At first we were like, "Well this should be interesting, young kids in a bar, just hanging out and taking up our seating...." However they ended up being some of the coolest people that we met. Justin Timberlake was playing over the speakers, and everyone one of them were singing in English all of the words with their accents. One of the funniest things ever. Then a couple of our boys joined in and they went on to sing "Umbrella" by Rihanna. So funny. Our night ended, and Whit and I walked home.
Sunday was brought in by rain and more rain, but we had heard of the local flea market that began around 10 am, so we got up early to check it out and meet the Jersey Boys. Well...it was just that. The Flea Market had nothing great in particular, except a candy counter, where Whitney and I both bought German Roasted Nuts - that were WARM and kept our hands from freezing. We said bye to the boys and headed home to make spaghetti...where we totally succeed in that and then took a nap for 3 hours. We were then woken up by John and Evan saying that they were bored and wanted to hang out. So they came over and we ended up teaching Whitney how to play Euchre. Soon the Fam called (love you guys) and we talked for a while about everything that I'm telling you now. After that, the group left our place and proceeded to Jersey's house where we then taught THEM how to play Euchre. One amazing Indiana night.
So now it's Monday. And it's beautiful outside. Whitney and I took tons of pictures today which I will soon be uploading. We wanted to get a few more so that we could show the "local hot-spots" on the first upload. Enjoy the rest of your days and I will should you soon where I live. Ciao!
Lots of Love to all of you,
Audrey
Saturday we had another walking tour of Macerata, to show the students where we would be taking our classes. Beginning at 8 am is rough enough, but let me remind you that this was our 4th tour around the city. However, the tour ended shortly, because we took time to go to the local mall. This mall was no Castleton. I'm going to make the assumption that there were about 15 shops all together and one large Wal*Mart type store in the center. We all ate lunch in the "common area" before taking time to walk around the mall, which took all of 10 min. All of the stores were over priced, and nothing really sparked my interest. Until I got to the one bookstore at the end, and they had every Harry Potter book except for the last one, which I think is the one that I want to buy. So that was a bust, but it was interesting seeing the other book covers that exist in Europe, and specifically Italy. We came back and got ready for our nightly activities. We went over to some friends house for dinner and then we were joined by about half of the rest of the group. Needless to say it got a little crowed so we headed out to our favorite bar. (By the way, we have only been there once.) Once we got there we headed up to our same upstairs location to sit on our couches, but we were unable to because there were about seven 16 year olds. At first we were like, "Well this should be interesting, young kids in a bar, just hanging out and taking up our seating...." However they ended up being some of the coolest people that we met. Justin Timberlake was playing over the speakers, and everyone one of them were singing in English all of the words with their accents. One of the funniest things ever. Then a couple of our boys joined in and they went on to sing "Umbrella" by Rihanna. So funny. Our night ended, and Whit and I walked home.
Sunday was brought in by rain and more rain, but we had heard of the local flea market that began around 10 am, so we got up early to check it out and meet the Jersey Boys. Well...it was just that. The Flea Market had nothing great in particular, except a candy counter, where Whitney and I both bought German Roasted Nuts - that were WARM and kept our hands from freezing. We said bye to the boys and headed home to make spaghetti...where we totally succeed in that and then took a nap for 3 hours. We were then woken up by John and Evan saying that they were bored and wanted to hang out. So they came over and we ended up teaching Whitney how to play Euchre. Soon the Fam called (love you guys) and we talked for a while about everything that I'm telling you now. After that, the group left our place and proceeded to Jersey's house where we then taught THEM how to play Euchre. One amazing Indiana night.
So now it's Monday. And it's beautiful outside. Whitney and I took tons of pictures today which I will soon be uploading. We wanted to get a few more so that we could show the "local hot-spots" on the first upload. Enjoy the rest of your days and I will should you soon where I live. Ciao!
Lots of Love to all of you,
Audrey
Thursday, January 10, 2008
CIAO! From Italy!
Good morning to most of you. Currently it is the afternoon and I just finished lunch at the student cafe here in Macerata. Let me just say it is no OOB (Lafollette dining service).
Anyways, I made it here safe. Thanks for all of your prayers. The past two days have been very long and tiresome, but I'm slowly adjusting. I think that by this weekend, I will be fully adjusted to the time change.
The plane ride has been the most interesting thing that I have had to endure so far. I sat in front of an Italian married couple that continued to push on the back of my seat. My friend Whitney could even feel them pushing on it...so you know that it had to be rough. So instead, I stared out the window into the black sky...and even though I could not really see anything...the stars were amazing that night. Probably one of the coolest things ever. Then we flew right over London, Paris and finally Roma. Amazing.
The train rides (plural) were a completely different story. They weren't the classiest way of traveling, however, most efficient, if you know what the heck you are doing. As soon as you get to the Roma Termini there are about 50 different trains all leaving at once. Be praying that you get on the right one because nothing about the train information was in English. How awkward to be an outsider. But all the same we arrived safely and the trip was a success.
Currently the town of Macerata is covered in Fog. Apparently we have mountains to the west and the Aedratic (spelled wrong for sure) Sea to the east - but we cannot see either of them, so that is making the buildings the most interesting things we have to look at. But do not get me wrong - they are beautiful. The streets are made of stone - nothing is paved here. And it smells amazing too. Italians have many plants in their home windows and store owners have them in their shops, plus the town itself has potted plants everywhere. Amazing.
Last night we found out our housing assignments. Whitney and I are living together in this apt. complex outside the walled city. Supposedly it is not to far of a walk....but after yesterday, nothing is too far of a walk. We carried our 70 lbs. plus luggage from the train station up a hill - no a mountain - we were told it would be rough...but for all of you doubters, I didn't complain and actually led some of the way. Thank you, thank you.
Now we have a bit of free time, so I thought that I would catch you all up. Hopefully I will be able to write soon. Tomorrow we are moving in to our actual homes here (thank goodness) so I'm excited that this is the last night that I will be sleeping in that hostel where the showers and the toilets are one.
Miss and Love you all,
Audrey
Anyways, I made it here safe. Thanks for all of your prayers. The past two days have been very long and tiresome, but I'm slowly adjusting. I think that by this weekend, I will be fully adjusted to the time change.
The plane ride has been the most interesting thing that I have had to endure so far. I sat in front of an Italian married couple that continued to push on the back of my seat. My friend Whitney could even feel them pushing on it...so you know that it had to be rough. So instead, I stared out the window into the black sky...and even though I could not really see anything...the stars were amazing that night. Probably one of the coolest things ever. Then we flew right over London, Paris and finally Roma. Amazing.
The train rides (plural) were a completely different story. They weren't the classiest way of traveling, however, most efficient, if you know what the heck you are doing. As soon as you get to the Roma Termini there are about 50 different trains all leaving at once. Be praying that you get on the right one because nothing about the train information was in English. How awkward to be an outsider. But all the same we arrived safely and the trip was a success.
Currently the town of Macerata is covered in Fog. Apparently we have mountains to the west and the Aedratic (spelled wrong for sure) Sea to the east - but we cannot see either of them, so that is making the buildings the most interesting things we have to look at. But do not get me wrong - they are beautiful. The streets are made of stone - nothing is paved here. And it smells amazing too. Italians have many plants in their home windows and store owners have them in their shops, plus the town itself has potted plants everywhere. Amazing.
Last night we found out our housing assignments. Whitney and I are living together in this apt. complex outside the walled city. Supposedly it is not to far of a walk....but after yesterday, nothing is too far of a walk. We carried our 70 lbs. plus luggage from the train station up a hill - no a mountain - we were told it would be rough...but for all of you doubters, I didn't complain and actually led some of the way. Thank you, thank you.
Now we have a bit of free time, so I thought that I would catch you all up. Hopefully I will be able to write soon. Tomorrow we are moving in to our actual homes here (thank goodness) so I'm excited that this is the last night that I will be sleeping in that hostel where the showers and the toilets are one.
Miss and Love you all,
Audrey
Friday, January 4, 2008
Recent E-mail
Hi again everyone. This is the blog that I will be posting on. Just so you can catch up on my daily excursions. Hope you all are having a good winter break and keep safe.
Audrey
Audrey
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