I left off on Friday, Day 12, I just had to say the meal that was cooked at my friends apartment was amazing. It really hit the spot. We had this chicken with mushroom spread on it — it was amazing. Excellent chefs they all are. Some appetizers and dessert was shared too; all amazing. After we went to this club called Space it was not for me… Waayyyyyyy too crowded and horrible music. Didn’t stay till close to say the least…
Day 13
On Saturday, I actually stayed in all day — I was soooooo tired. I caught up on so much sleep I missed during the week. My body needed it. That night I went with a bunch of people to this bar called Lions Fountain then went to a club called Twice. It was also quite… interesting. Packed and alright music. We just made it through the crowd, getting jostled around then eventually left. So far during this trip, every bar or club I have been to, I have been there twice. The count is one time good, and the other time bad. I suppose you’ve got to hit it on the right night.
Day 14
Sunday was a pretty good day. I went to the grocery store and then got called to go shopping with a friend. We hit a few stores and walked around and window shopped a lot. I walked by Valentino and I was just so amazed how beautiful the clothes are up close, even more amazed on the prices!! I went to a department store and got this “leather” jacket for 40 euro. I love the jacket. I wish it was a bit warmer though to wear it every day. I keep on hoping it will warm up to like… at least 60 degrees, but no luck yet… After shopping I went home relaxed for a bit then went to see a movie at this very old theatre. It was so swanky. The seats were really comfy also. The movie was in English, and well… very intense. It had some leave-nothing-to-the-imagination scenes and was not for the weak at heart. After the movie, we all went to dinner at a friend’s house again. She cooked this amazing dinner… gnocchi with sauce. It was just amazing. I also bought a pie and oh man… I licked my plate clean.
Day 15
Well today started my third week here. I could not believe it! I went to class and learned more past tense. After class, I went with some friends to a little restaurant and ordered spaghetti alla carbornara. It cost only 4,50 euro, which, for the price, it was not too bad! After that we all went back to the language school and watched “Benvenuti al Sud.” This movie was all in Italian… I can say for sure I did not understand much of it at all. Well also I was not really paying attention. Once that was over, we all left and I ended up walking around with a couple people. Two of them actually did some shopping but I ended up just standing outside, talking with one of them. He wasn’t shopping either so it worked for us. As it got to dinner time, I invited him and one of the girls back to my place for dinner. We picked up some wine and bread, and I had a pizza in the fridge so I whipped that up. We just sat in my room and ate and drank. It was fun. During dinner I got a phone call reminding me about an aperitivo I had with Global Experiences, which I completely forgot. So my friends (who are not part of GE) and I went down to meet everyone. We ate, drank, and talked. It was a pretty great time!
Day 16
Tuesday after class I walked to a pizza place with a bunch of people from the language school. I was actually here before; I went to this pizza place after I went on that tour of the museum that had “Venus” in it with a ridiculous tour guide. After that my friends and I went to Palazzo Vecchio. We got some amazing ice cream. We sat on the curb and just ate our ice cream and soaked in the sun. It was soooo amazing. It felt like spring! We got up eventually walked around to some random stores then went out separate ways. Later in the night few of us went back to that aperitivo place again.
Day 17
Did some homework. I feel like I never mention doing homework, but I do it. Later that night I went to YAB (a club). It’s getting pretty crazy, but I am really enjoying myself, and the people I am around. The club was full again, and got tossed around a bit, but I had a good time nonetheless.
Day 18
Thursday was a pretty great day. Class… well was class. My friend came over to help me cook because I was making dinner for maybe 14 people. We made a stir-fry with steak, mushrooms, red and yellow peppers, and zuccinni. Actually my friend pretty much made it. I cut things really. I did make a cake… which was a total episode. I don’t know how to use the ovens here or know Celsuis, so I kinda just guessed on it. It cooked an extra 4o mins then it should have probably. I kept on going back to check it, but eventually I put a pizza in with it because I didn’t have to patience to wait. Eventually both cooked, and everyone actually liked the cake I made. It was crispy on top and the center was moist. I probably cannot do that on purpose if i tried… The stir fry came out great and my pizza was great too. With the cake I made, we had this store bougth chocolate pie (the same one had the other night at my friends apartment) that was delicious of course! People arrived and we all ate, drank, and talked. It was a pretty good turn out. The mess was crazy, but I cleaned it up the next day, and was well worth it. Once we were all done eating, around midnight we headed to a club called Full Up. Didn’t go to bed till 6am probably…
Day 19
…I can honestly say I did not go to class. I had my reasons. Went for a Brazilian meal. It was soooo good. It was beef stroganoff, the way my friend makes it in Brazil. Speaking of Brazil, I will be going there in July for couple weeks to visit friends, eat the food, and soak up the sun. I said I will be tan for going down there… but for people who know me… I would say they won’t believe that since I sit under a umbrella in the summer to avoid the sun rays. I can promise everyone though, since I don’t want to glow compared to everyone else down there in July, I will be tan. I was invited to Rome for the weekend, so I packed a few things in a bag and got my portfolio ready too since I had my interview for my internship in the morning….
Day 20
Saturday again!! I woke up got my bag together and walked to the language school. There I met my Social Coordinator and Internship Coordinator and we took a taxi to where my internship will be. I will be interning at a theater that does work with theaters in Japan and the US. The main tailor does not speak any English, but I was told there are some people who do speak English, so if I get overwhelmed or really cannot understand something I can ask one them. I am not too worried about the whole not speaking English situation. It will be good for me actually. It will force me to speak and really listen to the language and learn it. Also what I will be doing is costume design (which is alterations, measurements, dressing the actors and actresses) is very hands on, so they can just demonstrate what they want me to do, and I will understand what they want most likely. After the interview, the Social Coordinator and I walked to the train station. She helped me buy my ticket to Rome. We actually bought the wrong ticket. It was a ticket to leave from another station, so I just hopped on a train right away (which I didn’t need to pay for, score!) and got to the other station right on time, and made the right train to Rome. It was about a two hour train ride. I fell asleep for some of it, eventually I made it to Rome. I only had hand written directions to the hotel where I was staying, so I asked for directions and made it there 30 minutes later. I dropped off my bags in the hotel room, and we walked to the Fontana di Trevi and met other people at a gelateria. I only saw them for a few minutes since they were heading back to Florence already. After we finished our snack and said goodbyes, my friend and I walked to the Panthenon and Piazza Navona. Eventually we got hungry, and I ordered spaghetti alla carbornara. It was very, very good. We ate dinner then went back to the hotel room… at least we tried. We went the wrong way down the street, we ended up at Castel Sant’ Angelo actually. So wasn’t a bad thing we took a wrong turn, it was very beautiful; it even had a wonderful view of the Vatican at night.
Day 21
We went to the Vatican first. Funny thing is… if we didn’t take forever to get out of the hotel we would have gotten to there too early and missed seeing the Pope!! It was pretty cool. We got there and saw so many people yelling and singing with banners. It was strange, and I was wondering what was going on. Then all were shouting and looking up at a window and a man came to the window and once he started speaking everyone got quiet. He said a prayer and some other things… again… didn’t really understand much. Once he was done we went into the Vatican and walked around and took some photos. The Sistine Chapel was closed by this point so I didn’t get to see that, but it was okay since I saw it twice when I was in high school. Once we left the Vatican we took a bus to the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele 11. We went inside and to a cafe on the top of the building and also a museum which exhibited the history of Italy and it’s independence. After that we left and went to another museum where it showed the history of immigration in and out of Italy. Both museums were really interesting. The latter one was all in Italian though, so I tried my best to read and understand all I could. When we left we ended up at the Spanish Steps.
Day 22
Went to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. We took our time walking around and chilled in the sun, laying in the grass for a bit. Eventually made our way out, grabbed some food and nutella crepe… yumm. At this point it was time to take the train back to Florence. Grabbed some McDonald’s an thought I took the wrong train for a bit, but eventually realized I had the right train this time…
Day 23
Made it to class! I got teased a lot for missed two classes in a row, but I must say it was nice to have a four-day weekend. After class we went to see “Benvenuti al Nord.” It was pretty good; didn’t understand a lot… but got the concept. After the movie we walked around, window shopped, and I came home to do my laundry and do this update. Now It’s time to head out again, to watch a movie with some pretty awesome people. Ciao till next time!
