I wake up to my alarm at 7 am, waiting for and hoping against a knock on my door. When that knock does not come for about 10 minutes I promptly fall back asleep thanking the good Lord. We would have gone to Lucca today as we did not go yesterday, but the weather was too crappy. I woke up to heavy fog and pouring rain. So instead of traveling I did homework. Quite a lot of fun, mind you.
I also went to Mass today at the Duomo again. It was pouring rain when Betsy and I walked to the bus stop. It was pouring rain when we went to get her a bus ticket, she's going skiing on Sunday and had to buy her ticket to get there. We then proceeded to walk in the pouring rain to the Duomo from from the station to get to mass. After Mass, which was cold since I was wet, we walking in (yup that's right) the pouring rain to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. Lucky for us, it was open at 6 so we didn't have to walk in the pouring rain anymore.
There were five of us and we each ordered from the 10 euro menu a different item. We all enjoyed what we ate and most of the food was gone from our plates when we finished. After dinner we each tried another shot of grappa. The stuff smells like rubbing alcohol and tastes even worse. The taste stays in your mouth after you down it and only time erases it. Afterward, when walking to the bus stop, it wasn't raining, YAH!!!!!! Besty and a few others got gelato from the place near the bus stop and we hopped on only after a 10 minute wait.
We came back to the hotel, changed into clean, dry clothes, and proceeded with our night. I called home and talked to dad for a while. Mom was at school so I'll call again tomorrow after my dinner. I then played cards with some of the other students here until 10 when everyone dispersed. Overall, not a very excited day. I was pretty bored with my homework but it needed to be done. Hopefully, if tomorrow is a better day than today and not raining, I'll do a little shopping as I really haven't done any yet. I will also sleep in as much as I can. I love and miss you all!!! Ciao!!!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Rain, Strikes, and Spinach
So, yesterday, Friday, we were supposed to go on our first day trip to the nearby town of Lucca. Unfortunately for everyone in Florence, the machinists for the trains went on strike from 9-5. We were unable to catch our train or even an earlier train to Lucca. So, instead of touring a beautiful walled city, we walked around Florence again. Bob took a few of us, after we separated at the train station, around to a few more out-of-the-way places in Florence before buying the five of us hot chocolate. It was really, really good hot chocolate. Thick and creamy with really good heavy, whipped cream on top. Ohh, soooo good.
Anyway. Bob also showed us where there are English books. The bookstore had a very good selection of English titles. I'll have to return there when I'm done with the books I brought with me. We separated with Bob at the bookstore and continued walking along the #7 bus route. We decided that we wanted to walk a little bit more instead of just hopping on the bus back to Fiesole. We stopped in a few stores, picked up a few small items, and continue on our way. We hopped onto the bus at its 3rd or so stop and came back to Fiesole. Even though we had separated from Bob quite a while back, he was on the same bus as we were. Not really surprising considering that there is only 2 maybe 3 #7 buses.
After returning to Villa Bonelli, I decided to take a nap. I basically lounged all day until dinner. Dinner was an interesting affair at La Reggia. For our first course consisted of spaghetti and pesto; second course was omelets and cooked spinach; for dessert we had panna cotta. The spaghetti was very good. The omelets were okay, I'm not a very big fan of breakfast foods for any other meal. I also don't enjoy cooked spinach, but I did try some of it. To me, it tasted a little off. The panna cotta also tasted very different from the one I had at Etrusca. It also looked as if it was taken out of a can and put on our plates. So dinner last night was not the greatest.
To top it all off, when we walked to dinner it was pouring rain out. I had my umbrella but my pants and jacket still got drenched. On the way back it was slippery walking down the very large hill. And then when we got back to Villa Bonelli, Betsy was sick from dinner. So, hopefully, we never have the particular combination again as it didn't sit well with a lot of us.
After dinner, Allyson put in the movie "P.S. I Love You." I watched the movie as I played two games of chess with Eldon. I beat him in both games. I think it was probably due to the fact that I have no real strategy when I play and he does so my lack of strategy confused him. Anyway, it doesn't really matter as we were playing for fun. Afterwards, both Eldon and I joined in on the card game going on. The game was Presidents and Assholes. I couldn't even begin to describe the rules as I'm still learning the game, but I had fun playing. We played until 10:30 when the guys decided to go out to the bar. I retired back to my room, showered, and went to bed.
Bob told us that if the weather was nicer on Saturday we'll go to Lucca. He said he'd knock on our doors at 7 if we were to go but this morning we got no knock. When I woke up the weather was just as bad as last night. Heavy fog and rain. So, Bob said we would head to Lucca some other Saturday since we would all be miserable if we went today.
Anyway. Bob also showed us where there are English books. The bookstore had a very good selection of English titles. I'll have to return there when I'm done with the books I brought with me. We separated with Bob at the bookstore and continued walking along the #7 bus route. We decided that we wanted to walk a little bit more instead of just hopping on the bus back to Fiesole. We stopped in a few stores, picked up a few small items, and continue on our way. We hopped onto the bus at its 3rd or so stop and came back to Fiesole. Even though we had separated from Bob quite a while back, he was on the same bus as we were. Not really surprising considering that there is only 2 maybe 3 #7 buses.
After returning to Villa Bonelli, I decided to take a nap. I basically lounged all day until dinner. Dinner was an interesting affair at La Reggia. For our first course consisted of spaghetti and pesto; second course was omelets and cooked spinach; for dessert we had panna cotta. The spaghetti was very good. The omelets were okay, I'm not a very big fan of breakfast foods for any other meal. I also don't enjoy cooked spinach, but I did try some of it. To me, it tasted a little off. The panna cotta also tasted very different from the one I had at Etrusca. It also looked as if it was taken out of a can and put on our plates. So dinner last night was not the greatest.
To top it all off, when we walked to dinner it was pouring rain out. I had my umbrella but my pants and jacket still got drenched. On the way back it was slippery walking down the very large hill. And then when we got back to Villa Bonelli, Betsy was sick from dinner. So, hopefully, we never have the particular combination again as it didn't sit well with a lot of us.
After dinner, Allyson put in the movie "P.S. I Love You." I watched the movie as I played two games of chess with Eldon. I beat him in both games. I think it was probably due to the fact that I have no real strategy when I play and he does so my lack of strategy confused him. Anyway, it doesn't really matter as we were playing for fun. Afterwards, both Eldon and I joined in on the card game going on. The game was Presidents and Assholes. I couldn't even begin to describe the rules as I'm still learning the game, but I had fun playing. We played until 10:30 when the guys decided to go out to the bar. I retired back to my room, showered, and went to bed.
Bob told us that if the weather was nicer on Saturday we'll go to Lucca. He said he'd knock on our doors at 7 if we were to go but this morning we got no knock. When I woke up the weather was just as bad as last night. Heavy fog and rain. So, Bob said we would head to Lucca some other Saturday since we would all be miserable if we went today.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Chiesa di Santa Croce
So today was the day devoted to Art and Architecture. We had class this morning at 11. But before that, I had breakfast, twice, and then sat and read until class. I know, not very lively but not every moment can be youtube quality. So class time comes and we learn about more things: Franciscan and Dominican orders, the different types of art: Mechanical and Liberal, the difference between churches in Egyptian cross form and Greek cross form, various styles of paintings and then more about the different periods of art. Whew, that's a lot of information to take in in only an hour and a half. This is a 3 credit course that is supposed to be an hour in the classroom and an hour at the site. We spend an hour and a half in the classroom and 2+ hours at the site. I think we should petition that this class be upped to 4 credits, but, alas, I doubt it would happen.
We then had a about a hour down time before we had to make our way into Florence, past the Duomo, and to the Chiesa di Santa Croce, or the Church of the Holy Cross. OMG!!! This basilica is so gorgeous. It is considered the Pantheon of Florence, is the largest Franciscan church in Italy, and was built in the Gothic style, Egyptian Cross form. Now, the difference between the Egyptian cross and Greek cross form is that the Egyptian cross has a long part and a short cross part, sort of like the letter 't.' The Greek cross more closely resembles the '+' sign. Anyway, the inside of the basilica is beyond belief. I cannot even begin to describe it as it is so overwhelming. We saw some frescoes of St. Francis painted by Giotto as well as an altar piece of St. Francis built by Bonaventura. Names I have to know for class and you can look up if you want, otherwise ignore them. I'll post the pictures of took of the Basilica as soon as I'm able to.
The Chiesa di Santa Croce is also the place where Dante has a tomb, although he is not really buried there. But, both Michelangelo and Galileo are buried in Santa Croce and have beautiful tombs in the main part of the church. I also took pictures of these so just be patient and you will see.
We then moved on to the Museum attached to the Basilica. We first went by a chapel that Brunelleschi built for the Pazzi family. The chapel has a dome that represents the twelve apostles with a window at the very apex representing God. We also passed the Cloister of the monks who originally lived there. Then we went into the museum. OHHHHH, was it breathtaking to see all these works of art; great and beautiful works of art all in one place. I took a ton of pictures so you can get some understanding of what I saw today. I was in awe the entire time, seriously.
Right outside the church, in the piazza, there was set up a chocolate fair. Dozens of tents filled with chocolaty goodness and samples for those attending the fair. We all went through a few times, trying little bites here and there. Oh, was it good to have really good chocolate. I've been craving it lately so it was very nice to have some.
We ate at La Reggia again tonight. Etrusca is Sunday and Monday. La Reggia is Wednesday through Friday. Anyway, our first course of pasta was on the spicy side, but still very good. The second course was this great salad and veal. Yup, that's right. I was served veal for dinner. I tried it but to me it tasted like bland beef. I really had no flavor that I could taste. For dessert we had chocolate and strawberry gelato. Very good. Mmmmmmmm.
All in all, today was another great day in Italy. I cannot wait for tomorrow as we will be traveling to nearby Lucca. Bob is going to give us one of his famous tours and then we get the day to explore. I'm looking forward to it. Ciao.
We then had a about a hour down time before we had to make our way into Florence, past the Duomo, and to the Chiesa di Santa Croce, or the Church of the Holy Cross. OMG!!! This basilica is so gorgeous. It is considered the Pantheon of Florence, is the largest Franciscan church in Italy, and was built in the Gothic style, Egyptian Cross form. Now, the difference between the Egyptian cross and Greek cross form is that the Egyptian cross has a long part and a short cross part, sort of like the letter 't.' The Greek cross more closely resembles the '+' sign. Anyway, the inside of the basilica is beyond belief. I cannot even begin to describe it as it is so overwhelming. We saw some frescoes of St. Francis painted by Giotto as well as an altar piece of St. Francis built by Bonaventura. Names I have to know for class and you can look up if you want, otherwise ignore them. I'll post the pictures of took of the Basilica as soon as I'm able to.
The Chiesa di Santa Croce is also the place where Dante has a tomb, although he is not really buried there. But, both Michelangelo and Galileo are buried in Santa Croce and have beautiful tombs in the main part of the church. I also took pictures of these so just be patient and you will see.
We then moved on to the Museum attached to the Basilica. We first went by a chapel that Brunelleschi built for the Pazzi family. The chapel has a dome that represents the twelve apostles with a window at the very apex representing God. We also passed the Cloister of the monks who originally lived there. Then we went into the museum. OHHHHH, was it breathtaking to see all these works of art; great and beautiful works of art all in one place. I took a ton of pictures so you can get some understanding of what I saw today. I was in awe the entire time, seriously.
Right outside the church, in the piazza, there was set up a chocolate fair. Dozens of tents filled with chocolaty goodness and samples for those attending the fair. We all went through a few times, trying little bites here and there. Oh, was it good to have really good chocolate. I've been craving it lately so it was very nice to have some.
We ate at La Reggia again tonight. Etrusca is Sunday and Monday. La Reggia is Wednesday through Friday. Anyway, our first course of pasta was on the spicy side, but still very good. The second course was this great salad and veal. Yup, that's right. I was served veal for dinner. I tried it but to me it tasted like bland beef. I really had no flavor that I could taste. For dessert we had chocolate and strawberry gelato. Very good. Mmmmmmmm.
All in all, today was another great day in Italy. I cannot wait for tomorrow as we will be traveling to nearby Lucca. Bob is going to give us one of his famous tours and then we get the day to explore. I'm looking forward to it. Ciao.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Walk This Way
Ohhh, Wednesday is the day to explore. Today, I had my history class. I hadn't slept very well the night before because I stayed up late watching a movie but couldn't fall asleep right away. So, in class today, Lucianna, our history teacher, lectured at us the entire two hours. She told us that she doesn't normally like to do that but next week we're going to go into town and visiting some sites. But because she lectured to us for the entire time, I was falling asleep in class.
We also had our second language class later that afternoon. We worked on numbers and verbs. Most of us know our numbers pretty well, so that part of class was a breeze. Working on the verbs and verb conjugation was a little more difficult for some people but I understood the rules better than most. So class went well but a little rowdy with the guys. They seemed a little keyed up today so who knows what tomorrow will bring.
So, after class today, Betsy, Ania, Allyson, and I went for a walk to a different part of Fiesole. We walked away from the hotel and past an elementary school. We entered this park and immediately it seemed like we were in a different world. Florence itself is a different world but this park was another one. Allyson said it reminded her of the movie "Secret Garden" and I have to agree with her on that point. It was sooo beautiful, quiet, and foresty. Trees everywhere, great views, rocky, dirt trodden paths all over.
We walked up to this plateau where Da Vinci was supposed to have tested out his wings. It has a little stone plaque thing, in Italian, explaining. We walked all over this park, up hills and rocks and unmarked paths. We even found this grove area that had two horses grazing. For a while the four of us petted the horses and fed them plants. Then we continued on our hike through the forest, seeing views that are to die for. It was too bad that today was foggy and cloudy because on a clear day you could see for miles from these spots.
It was starting to get late, around 4:30, when I noticed that the fog was settling in the forest. We finally left the park and walked up another hill to continue on to Fiesole. By this time, the sun was setting and the views were amazing. I took a ton of pictures with the sunset in the background. When we finally made it back to the hotel my pedometer read 4.126 miles. It seemed like we were walking a lot more but that's probably due to all the hills we climbed. Anyway, Betsy and I had enough time to shower and cleanup before our 6:30 meeting in the lounge.
Bob just wanted to let us know that we were going to Lucca on Friday for our first day trip. He had the tickets for us so if we missed the train we were on our own. He handed out a few maps and guides for us and told us to do a little research on our own. Then we headed for La Reggia where we had another delicious meal.
For dinner, we had pasta with a meat sauce for the first course, slice roast beef and french fries for the second course, and tiramisu for dessert. Ohhhhhh, the pasta was filling after all that walking we did (even walking up the hill to La Reggia is a workout). The beef was amazing and the french fries weren't salty but they had some sort of olive oil drizzled on them which made them sooo much tastier. I love the tiramisu at La Reggia. I'm not a big coffee person and at La Reggia, the tiramisu doesn't' have as strong a coffee flavor as Etrusca does.
After we got back to Villa Bonelli after dinner, Betsy, Ania, Allyson, and I played a very lively game of shot chess. Allyson and I kicked Betsy and Ania's butts, winning by a very large margin. It was fun to play with limoncello but after a while we invited others in to finish the shots as we all didn't want another one. I'm now writing this blog and after I post it I'm going to call my mother. So I'll say Buonasera for another night and write again tomorrow. Ciao.
We also had our second language class later that afternoon. We worked on numbers and verbs. Most of us know our numbers pretty well, so that part of class was a breeze. Working on the verbs and verb conjugation was a little more difficult for some people but I understood the rules better than most. So class went well but a little rowdy with the guys. They seemed a little keyed up today so who knows what tomorrow will bring.
So, after class today, Betsy, Ania, Allyson, and I went for a walk to a different part of Fiesole. We walked away from the hotel and past an elementary school. We entered this park and immediately it seemed like we were in a different world. Florence itself is a different world but this park was another one. Allyson said it reminded her of the movie "Secret Garden" and I have to agree with her on that point. It was sooo beautiful, quiet, and foresty. Trees everywhere, great views, rocky, dirt trodden paths all over.
We walked up to this plateau where Da Vinci was supposed to have tested out his wings. It has a little stone plaque thing, in Italian, explaining. We walked all over this park, up hills and rocks and unmarked paths. We even found this grove area that had two horses grazing. For a while the four of us petted the horses and fed them plants. Then we continued on our hike through the forest, seeing views that are to die for. It was too bad that today was foggy and cloudy because on a clear day you could see for miles from these spots.
It was starting to get late, around 4:30, when I noticed that the fog was settling in the forest. We finally left the park and walked up another hill to continue on to Fiesole. By this time, the sun was setting and the views were amazing. I took a ton of pictures with the sunset in the background. When we finally made it back to the hotel my pedometer read 4.126 miles. It seemed like we were walking a lot more but that's probably due to all the hills we climbed. Anyway, Betsy and I had enough time to shower and cleanup before our 6:30 meeting in the lounge.
Bob just wanted to let us know that we were going to Lucca on Friday for our first day trip. He had the tickets for us so if we missed the train we were on our own. He handed out a few maps and guides for us and told us to do a little research on our own. Then we headed for La Reggia where we had another delicious meal.
For dinner, we had pasta with a meat sauce for the first course, slice roast beef and french fries for the second course, and tiramisu for dessert. Ohhhhhh, the pasta was filling after all that walking we did (even walking up the hill to La Reggia is a workout). The beef was amazing and the french fries weren't salty but they had some sort of olive oil drizzled on them which made them sooo much tastier. I love the tiramisu at La Reggia. I'm not a big coffee person and at La Reggia, the tiramisu doesn't' have as strong a coffee flavor as Etrusca does.
After we got back to Villa Bonelli after dinner, Betsy, Ania, Allyson, and I played a very lively game of shot chess. Allyson and I kicked Betsy and Ania's butts, winning by a very large margin. It was fun to play with limoncello but after a while we invited others in to finish the shots as we all didn't want another one. I'm now writing this blog and after I post it I'm going to call my mother. So I'll say Buonasera for another night and write again tomorrow. Ciao.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Bring on the Rain
Okay, so the title of this blog really has nothing to do with my day. I was searching for song titles with the word rain in it because when I came back from dinner tonight it was raining. Betsy, Ania, Allyson, and I all went into town around 3ish to walk around and go to the Chinese place that I went with Bob to to eat dinner tonight. Only, there was a big problem. Now, it usually takes the Number 7 bus about an hour to get from Fiesole to the Duomo, give or take 10 minutes depending on how busy it is. So when we got into town we walked around trying to find the Chinese restaurant. I could not remember exactly how to get there because we were going the back way from what I remember. So we got a little lost, but then Betsy pulled out her map and we found our way to the restaurant. When we got there, around 4:30ish, it was closed. I swear Bob told us that it was open all day, but it was closed. So we walked around a little more, entered a few shops, looked around, bought some truffles and met up with the another group of us that came downtown for dinner. When we walked back to the restaurant, it was still closed. So the four of us just walked over to ZaZa, another restaurant around the corner.
ZaZa is a dine in restaurant that is known to be patronized by many celebrities. When we entered the restaurant, we saw pictures of Ben Affleck and Bill Cosby along with many others hanging on the wall. We were seated at this nice table that had a cushioned bench on one side, chairs on the other. The meal we had was divine. Each of us ordered something different and each dish was great. We only ordered a first course and water/wine for the meal. When we were done eating, we took our waitress' advice and ordered this heavenly dessert made of some sort of cheese, eggs and sugar. It was mixed into a cream and served with sliced strawberries. It was so good that each of us were moaning and groaning. All totaled, the meal cost us 14.25 euro each, not a bad price for very good food.
It was on our way back to Fiesole that it was raining. This brought on the idea to search for songs with 'rain' in them. When we were waiting at the bus stop, a police car was stopped in front of us at the light. I swear that the policeman in the car was just staring at the four of us the entire time his car was waiting there. It was kind of creepy to look over and find this guy staring. It also seems like it takes 20 minutes to get onto the bus from any stop besides the one at Fiesole. No matter what time we get to the stops in town, it feels like forever until the bus comes back.
Nothing really interesting happened this morning. I had Italian Lit and Italian Language classes today. In both, I learned a little more on each subject. Tomorrow I have history and Italian Language again. It will be interesting to see what we'll do tomorrow for history, if we'll go out to see a site or not.
I was able to call my little sister yesterday. I called her from skype and she said the same thing that mom said: that it was like I was right there calling. It's nice to be able to call my family and not have to worry about phones or phone cards. Anyway, I didn't sleep well last night so I'm probably going to go to bed early tonight. Arrivederci!
ZaZa is a dine in restaurant that is known to be patronized by many celebrities. When we entered the restaurant, we saw pictures of Ben Affleck and Bill Cosby along with many others hanging on the wall. We were seated at this nice table that had a cushioned bench on one side, chairs on the other. The meal we had was divine. Each of us ordered something different and each dish was great. We only ordered a first course and water/wine for the meal. When we were done eating, we took our waitress' advice and ordered this heavenly dessert made of some sort of cheese, eggs and sugar. It was mixed into a cream and served with sliced strawberries. It was so good that each of us were moaning and groaning. All totaled, the meal cost us 14.25 euro each, not a bad price for very good food.
It was on our way back to Fiesole that it was raining. This brought on the idea to search for songs with 'rain' in them. When we were waiting at the bus stop, a police car was stopped in front of us at the light. I swear that the policeman in the car was just staring at the four of us the entire time his car was waiting there. It was kind of creepy to look over and find this guy staring. It also seems like it takes 20 minutes to get onto the bus from any stop besides the one at Fiesole. No matter what time we get to the stops in town, it feels like forever until the bus comes back.
Nothing really interesting happened this morning. I had Italian Lit and Italian Language classes today. In both, I learned a little more on each subject. Tomorrow I have history and Italian Language again. It will be interesting to see what we'll do tomorrow for history, if we'll go out to see a site or not.
I was able to call my little sister yesterday. I called her from skype and she said the same thing that mom said: that it was like I was right there calling. It's nice to be able to call my family and not have to worry about phones or phone cards. Anyway, I didn't sleep well last night so I'm probably going to go to bed early tonight. Arrivederci!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Just Another Day In Paradise
So, it's Monday again. I awoke to rain and clouds and an overall dreary day. We had Global Issues again today. Bob teaches that class. We talked a little about current events, the chapters of the books we read, and the articles we read for class. We only had class for an hour then we were done.
When we got back to Villa Bonelli, I wanted to do my laundry but someone had signed up already so I had to wait. We also had to wait to go back into our rooms as the maids were cleaning them. It took an hour and a half to do one load of laundry. As the dryer basically microwaves the clothes, I hung my clothes on the towel rack and on the radiator.
I worked on the homework that we got today in Global Issues and helped others with theirs for our classes tomorrow. We have Italian Lit and Italian Language classes tomorrow. A few of us are thinking of going into town in the afternoon for shopping and then to the Chinese place we ate at on Saturday with Bob for dinner as we don't get dinner on Tuesday.
We had spaghetti and gnocchi for dinner, then pizza. For dessert we had the choice of gelato, panna cotta, and tiramisu. I chose gelato and it was a mix of chocolate fudge and hazelnut. Then we came back to Villa Bonelli and now here I am. I'll write more tomorrow. Ciao.
When we got back to Villa Bonelli, I wanted to do my laundry but someone had signed up already so I had to wait. We also had to wait to go back into our rooms as the maids were cleaning them. It took an hour and a half to do one load of laundry. As the dryer basically microwaves the clothes, I hung my clothes on the towel rack and on the radiator.
I worked on the homework that we got today in Global Issues and helped others with theirs for our classes tomorrow. We have Italian Lit and Italian Language classes tomorrow. A few of us are thinking of going into town in the afternoon for shopping and then to the Chinese place we ate at on Saturday with Bob for dinner as we don't get dinner on Tuesday.
We had spaghetti and gnocchi for dinner, then pizza. For dessert we had the choice of gelato, panna cotta, and tiramisu. I chose gelato and it was a mix of chocolate fudge and hazelnut. Then we came back to Villa Bonelli and now here I am. I'll write more tomorrow. Ciao.
A video from a bar.
Okay, so this is the video I shot the other night at JJ Hill of Carla taking her first shot. The shot was of limoncello which tastes just like lemonade only with a kick at the end. Her reaction is priceless. All thanks to my ingenious thinking and video feature on my camera, we were able to capture this first time moment for posterity. And now for you viewing pleasure, editing by Betsy with the creative engineering of Ania and Allyson, is Carla's First Shot. Copy and paste the link below to go to the Youtube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD61He01kUU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD61He01kUU
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Lazy days
Ahh, Sunday. The day of rest. Since I went to Mass yesterday, I didn't go this morning. I woke up around 8:30 as I had a very good night's rest. I have a delightful Italian breakfast of yogurt and a croissant with jam. The juice machine was down again so I just had water. Basically, it was a breakfast that wouldn't keep me satisfied for long.
I thought that the maid service was going to come again today, so I grabbed my computer and the books that I needed to read for class and took them into the lounge. I got a good 2-3 hours of work in before we all realized that there is no maid service on Sundays. I then went back to the room to make my own bed before continuing my work. I took the time to clean up my desktop and uninstall things that I downloaded but am not using anymore. I then waited for an appropriate time before calling home.
It seemed like it took forever for it to reach 2 pm my time, 7 am back home. But wait I did and then logged into skype and made my phone call. Of course, the one time my parents are not up early on a Sunday was today. I woke them up with my phone call but it was good to call home and hear mom and dad. We talked for about 15 minutes before the connection started getting a little bad and then hung up.
Basically, I did absolutely nothing useful today. I didn't go anywhere until dinner, just stayed in my room. A blah day.
For dinner, we went to Etrusca again. The spaghetti with red sauce that we had was delicious. I don't think anyone had any left on their plate. We had grilled chicken again for the second course and it tasted better than the last time. We had the choice of gelato, tiramisu, or panna cotta for dessert. I chose the panna cotta and it was delicious. It's this milk, cream, sugar and gelatin dessert and kind of tastes like marshmallow fluff only better. Anyway, it was really good and I really enjoyed it.
When we walked back to Villa Bonelli it was raining. It's supposed to rain all week, off and on, so I might get wet when I go out walking. Oh well. C'est la vie. We start classes again tomorrow and so I'll say Buonanotte and go to bed.
I thought that the maid service was going to come again today, so I grabbed my computer and the books that I needed to read for class and took them into the lounge. I got a good 2-3 hours of work in before we all realized that there is no maid service on Sundays. I then went back to the room to make my own bed before continuing my work. I took the time to clean up my desktop and uninstall things that I downloaded but am not using anymore. I then waited for an appropriate time before calling home.
It seemed like it took forever for it to reach 2 pm my time, 7 am back home. But wait I did and then logged into skype and made my phone call. Of course, the one time my parents are not up early on a Sunday was today. I woke them up with my phone call but it was good to call home and hear mom and dad. We talked for about 15 minutes before the connection started getting a little bad and then hung up.
Basically, I did absolutely nothing useful today. I didn't go anywhere until dinner, just stayed in my room. A blah day.
For dinner, we went to Etrusca again. The spaghetti with red sauce that we had was delicious. I don't think anyone had any left on their plate. We had grilled chicken again for the second course and it tasted better than the last time. We had the choice of gelato, tiramisu, or panna cotta for dessert. I chose the panna cotta and it was delicious. It's this milk, cream, sugar and gelatin dessert and kind of tastes like marshmallow fluff only better. Anyway, it was really good and I really enjoyed it.
When we walked back to Villa Bonelli it was raining. It's supposed to rain all week, off and on, so I might get wet when I go out walking. Oh well. C'est la vie. We start classes again tomorrow and so I'll say Buonanotte and go to bed.
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