Study Abroad Update

Oct 9, 10, 11 Padua and Venice


Oct 16, 17, 18 Florence on Friday and Montepulciano weekend


Oct 23, 24, 25 Siena on Friday and Last weekend with the Study Abroad group in Montepulciano

On Friday we went to Siena for the day. It was a rainy day so we spent most of time going from museum to museum and trying to stay dry. One of the museums had a rooftop panoramic out look and the rain held off just long enough for all us to take some nice photos. When we got back in town that night we decided to use the rest of the food we had in our kitchen to make one last dinner in Montepulciano because the next weekend we would be out of town in Barcelona Spain. We had some pasta and sauce, a can of tuna that went surprisingly well with our pasta and sauce. On the side we had olive oil and spices with our bread and the rest of our tomatoes! I went to Italy liking tomatoes mostly just on my sandwiches, but the tomatoes in Italy are absolutely delicious and I fell like I can eat them with anything and everything!!

Saturday we took some time to try and finish as much last minute school work so that we would not have the next week and weekend in Barcelona to worry about . We took the afternoon to visit the local museum that was right in our town. My favorite part was seeing paintings from Montepulciano from many, many years ago and seeing the similarities and differences. Since we had eaten all our food the night before and we were not provided dinners on the weekends we decided to treat ourselves to a very nice dinner near Piazza Grande. The menu had so many great things on it and in the end we choose the set meal that consisted of… an appetizer of meats and cheese, Pici (traditional pasta of Tuscany- thick as a pencil spaghetti) and a class of Montepulciano Rosso wine, then the main course was strip steak with rosemary, a side dish and a glass on Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, then we had dessert and espresso. It was nice because they gave each of the four of us at dinner and different side dish and dessert so we were able to share and try everything. We had not made reservations for the place we ate so the only spot left in the restaurant was at an eight person table where two people were already sitting, we all sat there family style at one table, they had not made reservations either. The couple we sat with were from California so we were able to talk to them and we found out they were on their way to see the daughter in Florence who was on study abroad! After dinner we went down to the garden bar and met up with some of the locals we had met during our time in Montepulciano. Over our time there we had taught them how to play flip cup, an American drinking game. Each time we hung out with them we learned something new or we taught them something. This night we tried to explain how we go to waffle house or steak and shake or something similar after going to a party and drinking. They did not understand something like that and explained that the only 24/7 places they had near by and in most cities were autogrills- the places at the rest stops along the highway. We ended up finishing all the snacks from our apartment and the two guys we had hung out with the most took us to a nice place right outside of town where we saw one shooting star after another. It was amazing and a nice way to end our last weekend hanging out in Montepulciano.

Oct 2, 3, 4 Free Weekend

This weekend was one of our free weekends. I decided I wanted to stay in Montepulciano that weekend and try to do some of the local things we just didn’t seem to have time for during the school week and because we were going to so many other places on the weekend. We knew there was a bus every Friday morning that went to Pienza, a town about 20 minutes from us that is known for their Pecorino cheese- made from sheep’s milk. We walked down to the bus station to buy our tickets and get on the bus, we were trying to figure out which bus was ours when a local at the bus station asked if we were going to Siena, we said no, Pienza. At this moment it took off running back through the bus station and to the front parking area after a moving bus, without thinking I took off running after this man and the bus. I am not sure when the man stopped running but when I got to the door of the bus as it waited to turn out of the packing lot we (myself and two of my roommates Kate and Emily) started yelling Pienza and pointing at our tickets, the bus driver opened the door and everyone was laughing and speaking Italian, who knows what they were saying about us! Hehe After arriving in Pienza we went to their Friday market, toured the small tuscan town and luckily decided to wait about twenty minute sooner at the bus stop than the bus back was supposed to arrive because it showed up fifteen minutes early! I’m not sure we ever really figured out those buses. We spend the rest of the afternoon spending time in our own town. We took some great photos from the top of the Communale (the main building in Piazza Grande) and made a nice dinner in our apartment! Saturday we continued are tour of our own town with a guide book to the art and architecture that we had found in our apartment. As we walked through town other students from our group found us and would join in for the tour. We had an early dinner at an outdoor place where we watched the sunset over the tuscan landscape. Later that night we had a few glasses of wine at one of our favorite hang out spots, Francesco’s Wine Bar and later moved on to drinks at another one of our hang out places, Sax’s Wine Bar.

Pompeii, Capri, Vico Equense

Picture Slideshow to go along with previous post!





View other photo albums at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/drobleto88

Sept 25-27

We began our trip to southern Italy with a 5 hours bus ride. Our budget this year has allowed us to take coach buses to all of our weekend trips and not have to worry about catching and switching trains with our weekend luggage. I pack in my backpack for the weekend trips but others do not pack quite as light. ; ) As we were approaching the Naples area, it seemed like out of nowhere this mountain just appeared. This was Mount Vesuvius, the active volcano that last erupted in 1944 and its eruption in 79 AD completely covered the city and wiped out the population of Pompeii. Our time was limited and I did not end up taking the bus to go hike along the rim of the volcano, but I did get some nice photos through the bus window and then a few more from our hotel, Pompeii and Capri.
We stayed in a town called Vico Equense… it is one of the many towns tucked into the cliffs of the coast below Naples. The view from our hotel was amazing (top picture) It was also in a great location, a one minute walk to the train station. We checked into our hotel, a pink sponge painted room with green rope trim, and orange bed spreads- it was an interesting combination, not that we were complaining- we were in southern Italy!!!
That afternoon we took the train to Pompeii- the excavated town that was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 AD. The buildings, houses and streets are so well preserved because the town was covered in about 30-60 feet of volcanic rock and ash. Some of the houses are so well preserved that you can see the mosaic tiled floors and fresco wall paintings. We had audio guides for our visit to Pompeii and when we first got there in the afternoon it was quite crowded but it soon cleared out and the angle of the sun in the evening made for some great pictures and nice visit with less crowds.
Saturday morning breakfast was served in our hotel, the dining room had assigned tables for each room and there was a lady that explained the buffet line of food and then showed us to our specific tables. This hotel definitely had some odd characteristics but we enjoyed out stay nonetheless. We then hoped back on the train, then a small bus and arrived in Sorrento where we caught a ferry to the island of Capri. As soon as we were on the island and had snapped as many pictures of its beauty we all ran to the beach. It was not a sandy beach, it was full of pebbles and rocks, which are not so nice on the feet but that did not stop us from dipping our feet in the Mediterranean!! Then we took the funicular a cable car tram that takes you to the top of the island, where the main piazza of Capri is. The blue grotto was closed the day we were in Capri and had been for the past five days for rough waters so we decided to walk around the island and see some of the sites by foot. The loop path that takes you from the main piazza and out and around one side of the island was described as an easy to moderate walk, taking about 20min in between each of the two main sites we would see. The Faraglioni and the Natural Arch. This was not exactly the case, our walk, more like a hike took us 3 hours!!! After our long trek around the island and all our site seeing we were ready to do some swimming. We took the funiculare back down, did a little souvenir shopping- we all got tee shirts! and hoped into the Mediterranean. It was a little chilly at first but very refreshing!!! We had brought a change of clothes for after our swim but after our swim the ferry was leaving in about 15minutes, we did not have time to find a public bathroom and so we road the ferry back in our bathing suits and dresses and enjoyed the wonderful sunset over the Mediterranean with the island of Capri in the background! We completed our night with a nice seafood dinner at a restaurant that was right on the cliffs of our town with a wonderful view!
Sunday we had to catch the bus back home at noon, so we had a few hours to walk around Vico Equense and so a little exploring. We found a nice panoramic overlook of the water, the next town and a beach that was covered in only seagulls. On the fence at the overlook were many locks just randomly attached… one of my roommates later researched this to find out that it is a symbol or tradition for couples to attach a lock to a fence, bridge, or bench near water and throw the key away into the water, proving their love for one another. We also stumbled upon a small market where we found some nice antique postcards and other odds and ends. We stopped at a small grocery store before boarding the bus and bought some potato ships that turned out to be a smokey barbeque flavor- something we had not found in Italy yet. It was a nice surprise and ending to a wonderful weekend!!!

Free Weekend Sept 18, 19, 20

(sorry for the delay)

The weekend after Rome was our first free weekend. One student went to Paris and another to Ireland, the rest of us stayed in Montapulciano to sit back and enjoy the town in which we now called home. It was great to actually have a morning to ‘sleep in.’ Since we left Atlanta on August 27th, we had not had a morning where we had to go to school, catch a bus or head to a museum or other tourist attraction. I am not complaining about running around everywhere because I want to get the most out of each of our weekend trips and believe it or not, getting up early for class means the rest of the day is still open and free!!!

Friday night we had ‘Fiesta Night.’ One of the girls apartments suggested a Fiesta night earlier in the week for whoever was going to staying in town for the weekend. I am enjoying all the Italian food and trying new things, but I sure do miss my chips and salsa! Thursday my apartment decided we were going to make some homemade salsa and contribute to the dinner… then we thought what about guacamole… Well sure enough we managed to find the only two avocados at the grocery store… a little more oddly shaped than the ones back home but they tasted just as good. We completed our two dips with some homemade baked tortillas and Sangria! The local winery in town lets you refill your water bottles or rather any container… we paid 10 euro for 7 liters of wine and added some nice fruit to the batch! All the other groups of students brought there own specialties or the best they could do at turning Italian food supplies into Mexican!

After the fiesta we headed down to the Garden bar… a place where many locals around our age hang out… some of the boys who had been in the Barrel parade where there and we tried our best to use the Italian we have been learning in class while they did there best at speaking English to us. While we are trying to learn their language and do the best we can and learn the language, the locals want us to speak to them in English so that they can learn ours.

Saturday we enjoyed our free time! Spent some time walking around town as locals and enjoyed watching the tourists in town for the weekend. It is funny how fast a place feels like home. We have gone from the first week of snapping a picture at every corner we come to, to taking in the scenery and give directions to tourists! That night we went to another groups apartment where we had some good old American hamburgers, complete with picante (spicy) ketchup from the Italian grocery store, and homemade French fries. The restaurant that we eat at Sunday through Thursday had been trying to give us a meal here and there to remind us of home--- hamburger patties with no buns, hotdogs- which we all agreed we could wait to have until we return home, and pizza with French fries on top of it! Our hamburgers were delicious and after that weekend my taste buds had been satisfied and it has been Italian food ever since!!!

The rest of our Rome Weekend

Friday was yet another busy day. We began with a quick look into the Church of Sant’Maria della Vittoria. A few of the people in our group said it is one of the churches from the book ‘Angels and Demons.’ It also houses one of Bernini’s famous sculptures… Ecstasy of St Theresa. Afterwards we headed for Termini (the main metro station) to take the train to the Coliseum. It was interesting to see the different brick and stone patterns throughout the structure and how our design patterns have not changed much. We used our Roma passes for the train and then to get into the Coliseum and then we headed to the Roman Forum. Our professors had books that showed before pictures of what the town looked like, it was interesting to compare what was left for us to see today, what has survived and what has fallen to the ground. We went to the Capitoline museum next. The art students took some time to sketch some of the statuary. We ended our busy day with a walk through the city to the Four Rivers fountain (another sculpture by Bernini) and the Pantheon. Oh and did I mention we stopped for some gelato along the way…I am working my way through trying every flavor!

Friday night we had more leisurely night, walked around, did a little shopping and ate at a Trattoria (nicer than a pizzeria, but not as expensive as a restaurant) which was on the interesting side… we have decided a place a little off the main road with cheaper prices is not the way to go… Lesson learned! Food was not awful but we had definitely had better during our trip.

Saturday we had an appointment to go to the Borghese Museum. They have a strict policy entering and leaving the museum according to the times on your ticket but they give you plenty of time. Again the art students had time to sketch some of the statuary within the museum and outside the museum in the gardens. I was very surprised by this museum, I did not know exactly what I was going to see and felt I had already seen every masterpiece Rome had to offer. We saw several pieces by Bernini (yes… he was very talented and has artwork ALL over Rome) and more paintings by Caravaggio.

From the Borghese we walked through park surrounding the museum in search of a train station to head towards the Vatican and St Peters Basilica. Several students in our group had paid extra to go to the top of the Dome of St Peters and we were headed back to do the same thing. After stopping for a delicious lunch at a pizzeria we found a very, very long line and decided we did not want to use our day standing in line. Another student had gone to the Castle Sant’Angelo the day before and said the view from the top was beautiful! We decided to give it a try. We made the right decision because the view from Castle Sant’Angelo included St Peters Basilica and a panoramic view of Rome. It began to rain when we were leaving the Castle so we decided to jump on a bus and head home to meet up with the rest of the group for dinner. Well our bus ride turned out to be a bit longer than intended because we ended up at a bus stop where the drivers changed shifts, delaying our ride a bit but keeping us dry!

We spent our last night hanging out as one big group for dinner and then splitting ways for the rest of the evening. Our group met up with Lorenzo (a guy who was our server in Montepulciano for the first two weeks of our stay) and a few of his friends and he took us to the old part of Rome, where nightlife was much more laid back and inexpensive. Lorenzo explained that trains were not a good option at night and that buses did not run nearly as frequently so we walked home – a 40 minute walk, but we broke it up into several small trips. We walked across the river, back past the Four Rivers fountain, the Pantheon, and to the Spanish Steps. I enjoyed taking some night photos of the city!!!

Sunday we had a few hours before catching a bus back to Montepulciano. Kristin and I did some last minute walking around the city to make sure we did not miss anything, while souvenir shopping at the same time. We grabbed a sandwich and some gelato for the bus ride home!

Our first day in Rome!!!

We took a bus from Montepulciano to Rome on Thursday September 10th. We left early in the morning so most of us slept on the bus, trying to save up all our energy for our busy weekend ahead of us. We checked into our hotels at about 12 and had about an hour to wait while the hotels checked our passports and then we were on our way again. Our first stop was Termini- the main Metro (train/subway) station in the city. The two main lines, red and blue meet here and this is where trains to other cities leave from as well. Our professor and director of the program purchased our Roma Passes while we all grabbed a bite to eat. There are lots of McDonalds throughout Italy and a large group of our students headed there for lunch. Kristin (my roommate) and I headed to a small sandwich place with a short line to make sure we had enough time to grab some gelato!!!

From Termini we headed to the Vatican (by Metro). The trains were not too crowded, which is something we were heavily warned about. We stayed in a group, I wore my money belt and we kept are purses-which only had my camera, phone, map and water- in front of us. The walk into the Vatican was a breeze, the program had pre-ordered our tickets so we did not have to wait in any lines!!! We spent the majority of our day in the Vatican Museum, St Peters Basilica and the Piazza San Pietro. The Vatican Museum is filled with masterpiece after mastpiece... If I only had one museum to choose from on a visit to Rome, I would choose the Vatican Museum. If you purchase tickets ahead of time it gets you into the museum and then you also do not have to wait in line for St Peters.

Just a few of the things we saw...
Raphael’s “Transfiguration”
and “School of Athens”
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Saint Jerome”
Caravaggio’s “Entombment”
Laocoon and his Sons
a Torso sculpture which inspired Micheangelos David
Mummy of a Woman
Micheangelo’s Sistine Chapel
and “Pieta”

Thursday Night: A group of us went out to dinner at a Pizzeria near our hotels. We all thought we were ordering individual slices of pizza and ended up with medium size pizza’s instead!!! After our long day and lots of walking we all just about finished each of our meals. After dinner we headed out for some mroe sightseeing. We headed to the Travi Fountain. A lot of the streets in Rome are small and narrow and do not follow a grid pattern, so one minute there is nothing on the street you are walking and the next minute you are standing in front of another masterpiece surrounded sightseers. On our way to the Spanish steps we got a little turned around with our directions, we came across a bar that offered us Americans drink specials and that is where are night ended. We visited the Spanish steps on Satuday and Sunday instead.